Wildest Dreams
by wendythemoustache
Summary: "How would I know ? I only listen to half the things you say." I glared at him as he smiled – that adorable, mischievous little smile. I leaned forward and punched him in the stomach. "You're an idiot." "I know." (George/OC. Set in GoF and onwards.)
1. vol I : chapter one

_Hello everyone!  
I am very excited to finally publish this story.  
It is the final version of a story I have been working on since forever, so I hope you guys will like it.  
It's a George/OC. It starts at Goblet of Fire and ends after Deathly Hallows.  
I should also precise that it follows the books and not the movies - but I sometimes added bits from the movies, just for fun.  
Please tell me what you think of it. I really love hearing from you.  
Enjoy x_

 _PS: To those who follow Northern Wind, I'm sorry for the lack of updates. I haven't been very inspired by GoT these days and haven't worked on it for a while. I will publish when I'm finally able to write a good chapter._

* * *

 **wildest dreams  
** VOLUME I

* * *

 **CHAPTER ONE**

I opened my eyes, and the first thing that I did was smile. I felt my heartbeat accelerate as I stared at the ceiling. It was today. _It was today !_ Nearly laughing out of excitement, I jumped out of my bed and ran downstairs, hoping to find someone to share my joy with – but the kitchen was empty. I remembered that Uncle Myron had had a concert the night before, and probably went to sleep really late. I contemplated the idea of waking him up, but decided it was probably better to let him sleep if I wanted to get to the Burrow without missing a limb. I took a look at the clock – it was 9am, and I was supposed to meet the Weasleys at around 11am, just in time for lunch.

I made myself a nice, warm bowl of porridge and went back to my room to change and finish packing. I was so excited that I couldn't stop smiling. Going to the Burrow had always been my favorite part of the summer, not only because I was able to spend time with the twins away from schoolwork and detentions, but because the place simply made me feel happy. I loved everything about it – Molly's cooking, the creaking sounds of the stairs, even the garden gnomes. I just knew I would be having a good time – but this year was extra special.

Right before 11, my backpack thrown on my shoulder, I ran back downstairs, heading for the chimney, trying to remember everything Uncle Myron had told me about using the Floo Powder. _Take the powder, go in the chimney, and yell_ … Yell ? Or was it just _tell_ ? Would it make a difference ? I stared at the powder in my hands. It wasn't the first time I was using the Floo Power, but it was the first time I was doing it by myself. What if I did it all wrong ? I certainly didn't want to get to the Burrow with half of my body still here. Biting my lip, I realized that I had no choice – I had to wake up my uncle.

I didn't really feel like knocking on his door. I really wanted to avoid that. Well, maybe he would be awake now, and he would hear me if I called his name from down here.

"Uncle Myron ?" I yelled.

The house remained silent. I hesitated.

"Uncle Myron ?"

"I'M SLEEPING !"

I chuckled, rolling my eyes. I ran upstairs and leaned against his door.

"Oh, are you now ? Didn't know you could talk in your sleep."

"It is one of my many hidden talents."

"Please, could you come down for a second ? I need your help."

"My help for what ?"

"The Floo Powder. I can't remember how it works…"

"Bloody hell, Addy. What time is it ?"

"It's 11 ! Come on, please help me ! I don't want to lose any limbs" I said.

Suddenly, the door opened on my uncle. His hair looked like a bird's nest on the top of his head, and his eyes were so small from sleeping that I could barely see them.

"What are you bloody talking about ? You can't lose a limb using Floo Powder, unless you're a complete idiot" he mumbled.

I noticed he was still wearing his clothes from last night's concert.

"Well maybe I am a complete idiot. I don't want to take any chances. I'm sorry for waking you up."

I gave him an apologetic smile, knowing that he must have been exhausted. The Weird Sisters, his band, had been on tour for the past three weeks.

"S'okay" he said with a little smile. "Alright, let's go."

We headed downstairs, and soon I was standing in the chimney again, bending my head slightly so I wouldn't hit it on the cement.

"And now, do I 'tell' or 'yell' where I want to go ?" I asked him.

"That doesn't make any difference. Just talk clearly."

"Okay. Thank you, Uncle Myron."

I couldn't help it – I got out of the chimney and hugged him tightly. I would miss him – I always did. When my parents had decided they couldn't handle me and my magic, they sent me to him. I was eight years old then, and he has been taking care of me since. I never saw my parents again. I didn't blame them. They're Muggles, and they were scared. I still wished I could see them from time to time, though – but I didn't even know how to contact them. Uncle Myron said they moved to America.

It was a weird childhood, I have to admit it – having eight hairy men as a family, and touring around the world with them. I had my first Butterbeer at nine, if that can give you an idea. But I was always safe and I was loved, and you don't really need more – even though I say 'bloody' too much, according to Molly.

"Anytime, Pancakes."

He always called me that, just because I really like pancakes and it amuses him. I smiled, and crawled back into the chimney.

"Take care of yourself. And cheer the Irish for me, will you ?" he said.

"Of course. I'll write as soon as I'm at Hogwarts."

"You better."

I chuckled, and inhaled deeply. My heart was beating fast, but I wasn't sure if it was because I was scared of the Floo Powder or if it was because I was going to see the twins again. I breathed out.

"THE BURROW !" I shouted at the top of my lungs.

I had time to see my uncle roll his eyes before I felt myself being pulled upwards. And, suddenly, I ended up on a hard floor, coughing because of the dust in my throat. I groaned as I pulled myself up. I smiled as I looked around me – the Burrow always felt like home. I recognized the familiar smell – Molly was cooking something. I stood up, a little bit disappointed that there was no welcome party to acknowledge my arrival. But at the same time, it was probably a good thing, because my clothes were covered in dust and my hair was a mess. I took the time to make myself look proper again before heading for the kitchen. I glanced at the family clock on the way – everyone was home, even Charlie and Bill.

When I got to the kitchen, I saw Molly scrubbing something in the sink, mumbling to herself. She looked upset – probably something Fred and George did.

"Hiya, Molly" I said softly, not wanting to startle her.

She turned around and her lips broke into a smile when she saw me.

"Oh, Addy, dear ! I didn't hear you get in !"

I smiled as she hugged me warmly, like only Molly could.

"How was your summer ?" she asked.

"It was great ! I went on tour with my uncle for a while."

"Oh, the life of a rock star. He went easy on you, I hope ?"

"He did, don't worry" I nodded.

"Good. Everyone's in the garden, dear. I'll call you when lunch is ready."

"Thanks, Molly."

I headed for the garden, happy that I was able to make her smile a little. Molly was like a mother to me – I looked up to her, even if she got worried a little bit too easily. I stepped out in the garden, and stopped dead in my step, staring in awe at the sight before me. There were two tables dueling – literally – and I looked down to see Bill and Charlie controlling them with their wands. The rest of the family, plus Harry and Hermione, were cheering them on. I was about to join them when a window opened right above my head.

"Will you keep it down ?"

I recognized Percy's voice.

"Sorry, Perce" said Bill. "How're the cauldron bottoms coming on ?"

"Very badly" replied his brother, slamming the window shut.

"Cauldron bottoms ?" I asked, curious.

This brought attention to me.

"Addy !" everyone called.

I saw the twins - they were smiling their own little smiles, and I smiled back brightly, jumping in their arms. I was so happy to see them again.

"I missed you guys so much !" I said.

"We didn't" they replied in unison.

I gave both of them a nudge on the shoulder.

"I know you did" I said.

I then took the time to hug everyone, and asked about the latest news, but when Charlie started talking to me about Quidditch, the twins quickly grabbed me by the arms and pulled me away from the crowd. I apologized with a smile and followed Fred and George to the back of the garden, where we could talk quietly.

"It's about time you get here" said Fred.

"Mom's been on our backs for weeks" added George.

"Why is that ?" I asked.

"Well… we might have given a Ton-Tongue Toffee to Harry's cousin."

I stared at them with wide eyes, letting out a gasp.

"No bloody way ! How was it ?"

"We didn't even see it" George shrugged.

"But Harry said his tongue got at least four feet long."

"Brilliant !" I exclaimed.

I was truly excited – I knew how hard the twins had worked on those. The twins then started telling me everything about the past few weeks, how Molly was watching them like a hawk, and how Charlie had fell from his broom while they were playing Quidditch. I listened to their stories, and I felt myself feeling good – very good. I was relaxed when I was with them.

I noticed how Fred was slightly taller, and how George had cut his hair. I could always tell them apart. There was a little something different in their eyes, something I couldn't really explain. Fred was always the leader – he was the one without censorship, that always could make you laugh. George was quieter, in a way – as much mischievous as his brother, but maybe more grounded. I knew them like the back of my hand, and they certainly knew me better than anyone.

After lunch, we spent the afternoon in their room, as they showed me the progress they had made with their products. It was truly impressive, and I was amazed at their creativity and commitment. They really wanted to make it work, and build something out of it. I always liked helping them out – they were the true masterminds, but I sometimes gave ideas, and they often asked my opinion. I could tell that they were proud of their work, and very passionate about it. I never doubted they would be very successful in the future.

Molly called us for dinner, and we headed outside to join the others. I sat down facing the twins, next to Charlie. Soon, we are all eating the delicious food Molly has cooked for us. Bill told us about his new job at Gringotts, and I soon entered in an argument with the twins about how tomorrow's match would go. I felt extremely excited just thinking about it. I had never been to the World Cup before, obviously, so when the twins had written to me saying I was invited, I had almost cried of happiness. There was nothing in the world I loved more than Quidditch, except maybe pancakes. I was absolutely terrible at playing it, but I was a very enthusiastic spectator. I had quite a reputation at Hogwarts.

"Ireland's gonna to win" said Fred with his mouth half-full.

"That's obvious" I replied, raising an eyebrow. "Lynch's going to catch the Snitch, he always does."

"Oh, that's never going to happen, dear" said Fred.

"Krum's going to. I'm sure of it" George agreed.

"Why do you believe in him so much ? I mean, he may be handsome, but –"

"What's that got to do with it ?" Fred exclaimed.

"Nothing ! Just let me finish !"

"Sorry" he answered, not looking even slightly sorry.

"What I mean, is that everybody bets on him, and I don't understand why !"

Fred and George then proceeded to enumerate all of Krum's qualities, which I listened to while shaking my head. I was convinced that Lynch was better than Krum. I had always been a supporter of the Irish – probably because of my uncle. I was about to argue when Charlie turned to us.

"Talking about the Cup ?" he said. "It's got to be Ireland. They flattened Peru in the semifinals."

"Completely agreed, brother" Fred nodded. "However, as we were telling Addy, Bulgaria has Viktor Krum."

I rolled my eyes.

"Krum's one decent player, Ireland has got seven" Charlie replied.

"Thank you ! There you go !" I exclaimed.

Charlie gave me a smile. We always agreed when it came to Quidditch – maybe that was why we got along so well.

"I wish England had got through. That was embarassing, that was" he added.

"Oh, don't bloody tell me" I sighed.

"What happened ?" asked Harry, who had been listening to the conversation.

"Went down on Transylvania, three hundred and ninety to ten" I answered faintly.

"Shocking performance" Charlie said, nodding.

We went on talking about Quidditch and the Cup, and soon Molly announced it was time for everyone to go to bed.

"Harry, if you leave your school list out, I'll get your things for you tomorrow in Diagon Alley. I'm getting everyone else's. There might not be time after the World Cup, the match went on for five days last time."

"Wow – hope it does this time !" Harry said, looking excited.

"Well, I certainly don't" Percy replied, looking dead serious. "I shudder to think what the state of my in-tray would be if I was away from work for five days."

I exchanged a look with the twins.

"Yeah, someone might slip dragon dung in it again, eh, Perce ?" Fred said.

I couldn't hold back a chuckle, as the twins had told me about the 'incident'. I went to tell Molly there was no need for her to get my things, as everything was already at my uncle's place, and I just had to go get them before catching the train.

"Oh, are you sure ? Isn't far from King's Cross ?" she asked.

"Not really, just a few blocks down."

"I'll get them for you, dear. Wouldn't want you to miss the train."

I tried to convince her to let me do it, but it was Molly, and she didn't want to hear it. Finally, I gave up and gave her to address to my uncle's flat, telling her that he would only be there before three, as he left for France afterwards. She seemed to be quite excited about the prospect of finally meeting him. I chuckled to myself. I wished I could witness that.

I went upstairs, and after saying goodnight to Fred and George, went to Ginny's room, where I slept with her and Hermione. After taking a warm shower and putting on my pajamas, I cuddled up under the sheets.

"It's gonna be brilliant, I can't wait" I said.

"Me too ! I don't even like Quidditch that much, but I'm still really excited. Do you think we'll have good seats ?" Hermione asked.

"Don't know" Ginny answered. "Dad doesn't want to tell us."

"Maybe because they are the best ones you can have" I said with a smile.

"Or the worst" Ginny shrugged.

We laughed, and when Hermione turned off the lights, I closed my eyes and fell asleep instantly.


	2. vol I : chapter two

_Yeah, I know - that was fast!  
I'm just really excited to share this story with you guys.  
A few of you followed/favorited, so I thought I would give you a quick update.  
If more of you show up (and possibly review ?) I'll post another chapter tomorrow.  
Hope you guys enjoy ! x  
_

* * *

 **wildest dreams  
** VOLUME I

* * *

 **CHAPTER TWO**

* * *

I woke up to something tickling my nose. When I opened my eyes, I realized it was Fred, tickling my nose with a feather. I pushed him away with a loud groan, swooping my head under the covers, cursing his name.

"GO AWAY !" I yelled, still sleepy.

"I'm not sure she's awake" whispered Fred.

"YES I AM, YOU GIT !"

"Well, will you get your lazy arse out of bed ?" he sighed.

I sighed loudly, peaking outside the covers to see them fully dressed, and I suddenly realized what day it was.

"IT'S TODAY !" I said, jumping out of my bed.

"IT'S TODAY !" they yelled back.

We couldn't contain our excitement, and all starting dancing around Ginny's room – thankfully, both she and Hermione were already up.

"ALL OF YOU, SHUT IT !" yelled a voice that I recognized to be Ron's, from next door.

He had never been much of a morning person.

"Mom made breakfast, you should hurry" George told me.

I nodded, and chased them out of the room so I could get changed. I slipped into my favorite black jeans and my green Ireland Team tee-shirt (a gift from my uncle, of course) and I put on a denim jacket because it looked cold outside. After brushing my hair, I ran downstairs, eager to get going. I was grinning from ear to ear. This would be one of the greatest days of my life, I was sure of it.

When I entered the kitchen, the Weasleys were talking about splinching. I shivered.

"… prefer brooms – slower, but safer."

"But Bill and Charlie and Percy can all do it ?"

"Charlie had to take the test twice" said Fred with a smile. "He failed the first time. Appareated five miles…"

I made my way to the twins, smiling at George who was quietly looking at me.

"Your shoelaces are undone" he said.

I looked down at my shoes – he was right. I bent down to lace them.

"Thanks, Forge" I smiled at him when I was done.

He winked at me. I strangely felt like blushing.

"Yes, well, he passed the second time" Molly said as she came back from the kitchen.

"Percy only passed it two weeks ago" George replied. "He's been Apparating downstairs every morning since, just to prove he can."

I chuckled, and sat down to get some breakfast. As I was eating a piece of toast, I watched the twins as they exchanged a few whispers. I knew exactly what they are talking about – they were bringing a few Ton-Tongue Toffees to the Cup. I had a few in my pockets too, but even they didn't know. Just a precaution.

"George !" suddenly yelled Molly.

"What ?" he responded, in a false innocent tone.

I bit my lip, holding back a laugh. Charlie shot me a look, but I shrugged.

"What is that in your pocket ?" she snapped in a threatening voice.

"Nothing !"

"Don't you lie to me ! Accio !"

As soon as Molly waved her wand, the small silver candies flew out of George's pockets who tried to grab them, failing miserably.

"We told you to destroy them ! We told you to get rid of the lot ! Empty your pockets, go on, both of you !"

It took several minutes for Molly to manage to get all the Toffees that the twins had on them. I observed the scene quietly, eating my breakfast, very glad that I had taken my precaution. But I didn't say anything, just in case Molly might suspect me too. She then proceeded to throw the candies in the garbage. Fred and George looked devastated.

"We spent six months developing those !" Fred shouted.

"Oh, a fine way to spend six months ! No wonder you didn't get more OWLS !"

The looks on Fred and George's faces darkened. I felt bad. I knew how they felt about their mother always comparing them to their brothers. They always acted like they didn't care, but deep down, they just wanted to prove themselves to her, prove their value, and make her proud. I always told them it would come with time, but they always shrugged it off.

When Molly was done throwing away the Toffees, I grabbed my bag and ran after the twins who had gone outside. They were waiting near the path that leaded to the forest, looking grim. I hated seeing them like this – fortunately, I had something that surely would lift up their spirits.

"Stop looking so bloody grim" I told them, smiling.

"We spent months working on those, Addy" Fred groaned.

"I know."

"All that time, and for what ? They were our last. We're back to scratch now" George added.

"Well, I don't know about that" I said.

The twins stared at me, frowning. I couldn't help but grin harder, holding back a laugh.

"What does that mean ?" they asked in unison, eyes narrowed.

I bit my lip, wanting the suspense to last a little longer. But I was too excited, so I looked around to make sure Molly couldn't see me from the window and took out the few Toffees I had hid in my pockets. The twins' eyes widened at the sight.

"Wicked !" they said.

"How did you manage that ?" George asked.

I shrugged, putting the Toffees back in my pockets.

"I took some this morning. I just had a feeling."

"Brilliant, Addy, quite brilliant. Mom would never suspect you, after all, she thinks you are still the innocent and well-behaved person you were years ago" Fred said.

"Yeah, for some reason, she doesn't realize that you are now as evil and monstrous as us…" George nodded.

"Wow, thanks, George, for calling me a monster. That's the nicest thing you've ever said."

"Anytime" he said.

"You guys make me sick" Fred groaned.

I smiled, feeling like blushing for the second time that day. This couldn't become a habit. Fortunately, I was saved by Arthur and the others as they came out of the Burrow. We then started walking to Stoateshead Hill, where we were supposed to take the Portkey to the World Cup.

Once we got there, Arthur asked us to look around and try to find said Portkey – but nobody had any idea of what it might be.

"It could take bloody forever" I moaned. "What if we miss the Cup ?"

"Don't be silly, Addy, of course we won't miss the Cup. We'll find it in no time, I'm sure" Arthur stated.

He sounded confident, but I couldn't help but notice he only looked half-convinced.

"Don't worry, I will never let that happen" Charlie chuckled beside me.

"I don't know what I would do without you" I told him.

He laughed, and we started looking around.

It had been a few minutes, and we still had nothing. I was starting to get nervous when we heard screaming from the other side of the hill.

"Over here, Arthur ! Over here, son, we've got it."

I sighed in relief, and we all walked to the source of the voice. There we found two people – one I didn't know and the other I immediately recognized.

"This is Amos Diggory, everyone. He works for the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. And I think you know his son, Cedric ?" Arthur declared.

"Hi" said Cedric with a smile.

I smiled faintly at him. Not that I had anything against him personally – no, but I was still bitter at the memory of Hufflepuff defeating Gryffindor last year. And I felt like it was a bit of my duty to dislike the players of the other teams when it came to Quidditch at Hogwarts.

"Long walk, Arthur ?" Amos asked.

"Not too bad. We live just on the other side of the village there. You ?"

I half-listened to the conversation as I turned to George, whispering in his ear.

"This year, we'll destroy him" I said.

"Crush him" he nodded.

I smiled and held back a chuckle.

"All these yours, Arthur ?"

"Oh, no, only the redheads" Arthur answered. "This is Adelaide, a friend of Fred and George's –"

I shivered. I hated it when people called me 'Adelaide'.

"Just Addy – nice to meet you."

"- and this is Hermione, a friend of Ron's, and Harry, another friend…"

"Merlin's beard ! Harry ? Harry Potter ?" Amos exclaimed.

"Er – yeah."

"Ced's talked about you, of course. Told us all about playing against you last year… I said to him, I said 'Ced, that'll be something to tell your grandchildren, that will…You beat Harry Potter !"

A silence followed. I raised an eyebrow, glaring at Cedric who seemed a bit uneasy.

"Harry fell off his broom, Dad. I told you… it was an accident…"

"Yes, but you didn't fall off, didn't you ?"

I stared down at the ground, feeling as uncomfortable as annoyed.

"Always modest, our Ced, always the gentleman… but the best man won, I'm sure Harry'd say the same, wouldn't you, eh ? One falls off his broom, one stays on, you don't need to be a genius to tell which one's the better flier !"

I felt my blood drain out of my face, but Arthur saved the day by quickly changing the subject.

"Must be nearly time" he said. "Do you know whether we're waiting for any more, Amos ?"

I glanced at Fred and George, who were scowling. I wanted to say something, but we quickly had to gather around the Portkey, which was an old boot. I ended up next to Cedric, who gave me a small smile, and I tried to do the same, but I felt that my smile wasn't very convincing.

"Three… two… one…"

I felt myself being pulled back, and I wanted to scream, but before I had time to do so I fell back on the ground, landing half on the cold grass, and half on Fred.

"Blimey, Addy !" he groaned.

"Sorry…"

I stood up, offering him my hand.

"Seven past five from Stoatshead Hill" suddenly said a voice.


	3. vol I : chapter three

_Hello everyone!  
Thank you for the favorites and follows, and especially to morganville101 and siavault1018 for their reviews 3  
I love hearing from you ! Here's a deal - if 5 of you review this chapter, I will post another one tomorrow morning instead of waiting a few days.  
Hope you like this one ! It is a shorter and slower chapter, but there's a lot of action coming.  
Enjoy ! x_

* * *

 **wildest dreams  
** VOLUME I

* * *

 **CHAPTER THREE**

* * *

I had never seen anything like this in my entire life. All around me, people dancing, singing, laughing – and all the colors, and the flags. It felt like the ground itself was buzzing with excitment. Everyone was smiling. I felt ecstatic, and so alive. Grabbing the twins' arms, we made our way to our spot. We kept pointing out familiar faces, or people in costumes. After saying goodbye to Cedric and his father, we finally arrived at the spot and set up the tents.

I shared a tent with Hermione and Ginny, and after leaving my bag on one of the beds, I went back outside to join the others. I really wanted to walk around and take in the atmosphere. I felt like I could burst out with happiness. The twins were still in their tent, so I started looking around – that's when I saw a familiar face.

"OLIVER ? OLIVER !" I yelled.

I waved when he turned around. I made my way to him, grinning from ear to ear. When I finally got to him, I jumped in his arms, hugging him tightly.

"I'm so happy to see you !" I said.

"You too ! You look wonderful, Addy."

"Oh, stop it" I said, blushing slightly.

He then smiled the only way Oliver Wood could smile. I had had a crush on him ever since my first year at Hogwarts – and we had dated, last year, for a few months. I would always remember the moment he had come up to me right before a Quidditch match against Slytherin, looking livid – he was always nervous before a match – and had asked me if I wanted to 'get a Butterbeer after this'. We had had so much fun together – but when it was time for him to leave Hogwarts, we both decided it was better to end it there. I was glad we were still friends today – there was nothing weird, nothing left unsaid.

"Guess what" he said, eyes blazing.

"What ?"

"I just signed a contract – with the Puddlemere United reserve team."

"You're bloody joking !" I exclaimed.

"No !"

"Oliver, that's amazing !"

I hugged him again, unable to stop smiling. It has always been his dream to play Quidditch professionally, and I was so happy his dream was coming true.

"I knew you'd make it" I said.

"Thank you, Addy."

"Oliver ? Who's this ?" suddenly asked a voice behind me.

I turned around. There was a man and a woman, smiling softly – Oliver's parents, no doubt.

"Mom, dad, this is Addy."

"Addy ? The Addy ?" his mom exclaimed.

I blushed, exchanging a look with Oliver. He gave me an embarassed smile.

"It's very nice to meet you, Mr and Mrs Wood" I said, shaking their hands.

"Very nice indeed" she said. "Oliver told us a lot about you."

"Only good things, I hope" I replied in a playful tone.

"Of course ! We heard you are a very enthusiastic Quidditch fan."

"Yes ! I'm very excited to be here."

"Let's go, Margo" said Oliver's dad. "I bet they have a lot to catch up on."

"Thanks, Dad" mumbled Oliver.

I waved them goodbye as they went into their tent.

"They are so nice ! Your dad looks just like you" I told Oliver.

"That's what everyone says. So, did you come here with the Weasleys ?" he asked.

"Yeah."

"Can't say I'm surprised" he said.

I smiled, and then he asked about my summer. We talked for a few minutes, catching up on the latest news. Then, his father called him so he could help setting up something in the tent.

"I need to go" he said. "But write to me once in a while, eh ?"

"You can count on me. You'll be missed at Hogwarts, you know ?"

"You mean _you_ will miss me" he said with a little smile.

"Ha-ha. Better watch those ankles, Mr. Wood" I replied with a chuckle.

"Say hi to the twins for me, will you ?"

"I will. Take care, Oli."

I hugged him again, and with one last smile, walked back to the Weasleys' tent. I felt incredibly happy, and wanted to tell everything about Oliver to Fred and George, but when I got back to our spot, the family was busy speaking with a strange man, who wore a very… original Quidditch robe.

" – memory like a leaky cauldron and no sense of direction. Lost, you take my word for it. She'll wander back into the office in October, thinking it's still July."

I sat between Fred and George, who looked very satisfied with themselves.

"What are you two looking so happy about ?" I asked quietly.

"Cuppa ?" said Fred, handing me one.

"Where were you ?" asked George.

"I saw Oliver ! Did you know he signed with the Puddlemere United reserve team ?"

The twins, looking excited, asked for details.

"I bet you were happy to see him" said Fred with a smirk.

"What's that supposed to mean ?"

"I do seem to recall you two snogging in the locker room last year –"

"Oh, bugger off."

They giggled, and I shook my head. The twins had never swallowed the news of me going out with Oliver. They always teased me about it.

"Tell me why you look so proud with yourselves" I muttered, eager to change the subject.

"Well, my dear" started George, whom I noticed seem quite happy about the change of topic too, "we just made a bet."

"A bet ? What kind of bet ?"

"All our savings on Ireland winning, but Krum catching the Snitch" explained Fred.

"All – all your savings ?! _All_ your bloody savings ? What, with who ?"

They pointed the strange man.

"Ludo Bagman. He'll regret it" said George.

"I admire your confidence. Really, I do" I sighed.

"You should."

I shook my head – only the twins could make such a bet. I just hoped they would win. Their savings was all they had to start their business. Weasley's Wizard Wheezes would never happen without that money. But I kept my worries to myself.

Suddenly, a second man apparated in front of us. I immediately recognized him as Barty Crouch, for seeing him in the Daily Prophet.

"Pull up a bit of grass, Barty" said Bagman.

"No, thank you, Ludo. I've been looking for you everywhere. The Bulgarians are insisting we add another twelve seats to the Top Box."

"Oh, is that what they're after ? I thought the chap was asking to borrow a pair of tweezers ! Bit of a strong accent."

"Mr. Crouch !" exclaimed Percy. "Would you like a cup of tea ?"

"Oh, yes – thank you, Weatherby."

I heard Fred and George choke in their cups, and I nearly dropped mine as I tried to hold back my laughter. Percy gave us a dark look, but we couldn't stop laughing.

"See you all later !" said Bagman. "You'll be up in the Top Box with me – I'm commentating !"

Both men disapperated. I turned to the twins, my jaw dropping.

"The Top Box !" I shrieked with excitement.

George smiled at me, but Fred seem to have something else on his mind.

"What's happening at Hogwarts, Dad ?" he asked. "What were they talking about ?"

"It's classified information" snapped Percy. "Until such time as the Ministry decides to release it. Mr. Crouch was quite right not to disclose it."

"Oh shut up, Weatherby" said Fred.

I snorted. Fred turned to me and George.

"What do you reckon it is ?"

"I have no idea. Must be big though, if everyone is making such a fuss about it."

"Maybe a giant will visit the school or something" George shrugged.

"I think the troll we got three years ago was enough" I replied with a smile.

We finished our cups of tea, sharing theories about what the big mistery might be. Then, we decided to walk around a little – we told Arthur it was to get wood for the fire, but really, we went out there to test the Ton-Tongue Toffees. The results turned out to be more than satisfying.

The sun slowly set down, and we visited one of the many shops to see what they sold. I got a scarf for myself and my uncle – and also bought the twins a pair of Omniculars, as they had given away all their money for the bet. As we were walking back to the tent, the gong rang. I smiled, feeling like my heart might burst out of my chest. The match was about to begin.


	4. vol I : chapter four

_Good afternoon everyone!  
Thank you again for the follows, the favorites and the reviews.  
I love hearing from you - it motivates me a lot. Don't hesitate to send your comments, suggestions and predictions!  
This is a longer chapter, and very action-packed ! So I hope you like it!  
Enjoy x_

* * *

 **wildest dreams  
** VOLUME I

* * *

 **CHAPTER FOUR**

* * *

After the breath-taking, most amazing Quidditch match I had ever witnessed ended, we made our way back to the tents to celebrate Ireland's victory – and also the twins' victory. They ended up being right about Krum catching the Snitch, and therefore won a lot of Galleons.

"What are you two going to do with all that money ?" I asked them while we were walking back to the tent.

"Save it for the shop, of course" said George.

"Maybe we can get that place on Diagon Alley after all" said Fred.

They exchanged enthusiastic grins, and I couldn't help but smile too. I was happy to see them so optimistic about their future.

We finally got back to the tent, and Arthur prepared us hot chocolates. We sat down, sighing in relief. My feet were killing me. I stretched my legs and laid them on Fred's knees, leaning down against George. That felt good. We sat there for a while, just talking about the match. Then, suddenly, Fred stood up, making me spill my drink on my shirt.

"Fred !" I shrieked.

But he ignored me, lifting his arms in the air. I rolled my eyes.

"KRUM!" he yelled.

"DUMB KRUM!" screamed back George.

Suddenly, I felt myself being lifted up from the couch. I screamed in surprise as George held me by the waist.

"George, put me down !" I shouted.

But he had other plans, and started twirling around like we were dancing. I struggled against him, unable to hold back my laughter. Finally, after a few minutes, he put me down, and the twins started singing, and soon we were all dancing and singing in the tent. Well, except Percy, who looked very much annoyed, and Ginny, who looked half-asleep.

"YAY KRUM!" screamed Fred.

"He's more than an athlete !" said Ron. "He's an artist !"

"Ron, you're in love !" I said, laughing.

"Viktor, I love you, Viktor I do !" sang the twins. "When we're apart my heart beats only for you !"

Ron only blushed, and shot the twins a dark look.

"Oh, leave it…"

Suddenly, a loud noise made everyone stop talking. We all turned to Ginny, who had just fallen asleep on the kitchen table, spilling her hot chocolate.

"Very well !" declared Arthur, cleaning the mess with his wand. "I think it will be enough for tonight… Time for bed, everyone !"

Nobody argued with him. I was still in the mood for celebrating, but I felt quite tired. I wished the boys goodnight and followed Ginny and Hermione to our tent. After I changed into my pyjamas, still unable to stop smiling, I snuggled into my little bed and instantly fell asleep, my head filled with the memories of the past day.

It seemed like I had only been asleep for a minute when someone woke me up, shaking me by the shoulders. I opened my eyes to see Arthur looking very pale. As soon as he saw I was awake, he turned to Hermione.

"Wake up, girls ! Quickly !" he said, his voice trembling.

I could tell something was wrong – very wrong.

"What's wrong ?" I asked.

"Grab a jacket and get out, not time for questions !"

The alarmed tone of his voice convinced me it was not some kind of joke. I could feel my heart pounding in my chest as I slipped into a jacket and followed the girls outside.

It felt like I had just stepped into a nightmare. Everywhere, I could see people running, screaming – tents were on fire, spells bounced all around us. It was horrifying. I ran to Fred and George, seeking their presence – they were looking up at the dark sky, so I lifted my head and saw what they were looking out. I gasped – four people were floating in the air, like dishevelled puppets.

"Bloody hell" I whispered.

"That's sick" muttered Ron behind me.

I couldn't look away, and suddenly felt a hand grab mine. I looked down to find George staring at me, and I clenched his hand tighter, feeling slightly better. I wanted to smile to thank him, but I couldn't find the strength. I felt sick.

"We're going to help the Ministry" Arthur told us. "You lot – get into the woods, and stick together. I'll come and fetch you when we've sorted this out !"

With a nod, he turned around and ran away, followed by Bill, Charlie and Percy. I saw a blast of green light from the corner of my eye, shot from the wand of a man dressed all in black and wearing a weird mask – and I knew that we had to get away from here, and fast. Fred was the first to react.

"Let's go" he said, grabbing Ginny's hand.

He started running towards the woods, and we all followed him closely. We ran across the field, trying to ignore the screams and all the people running away around us. I didn't let go of George's hand – I couldn't.

We finally got the woods, which were very dark. I was wondering how much further we had to run when I tripped over something. I felt my hand slip from George's as I fell forward, hitting my head on something hard. I groaned in pain.

"Addy !" exclaimed George.

He was back beside me in an instant, grabbing my hand again.

"You're all right ?" he asked.

"I'm okay" I answered, getting back up clumsily.

"You sure ? Can you still run ?"

I could barely figure out his face in the darkness, but he held my hand tight, and it made me feel safe. I nodded, ignoring the pain in my head, and we ran to catch up with the others. When we got to an empty clearing, a few minutes later, Harry, Ron and Hermione were nowhere in sight. I collapsed next to a tree, closing my eyes to try and chase away the pain.

"What is happening ? Who are these people in black ?" asked Ginny.

"I have an idea" said Fred. "But I hope I'm wrong."

"Death Eaters" nodded George, looking at his brother.

"Death-what ?" asked Ginny, confused.

"Death Eaters. You-Know-Who's soldiers" explained Fred.

Silence followed his words. I felt cold, and dizzy. That couldn't mean anything good. Ginny sat down, closely followed by Fred. We were all silent. There was nothing to say, after all. We just needed to wait. I looked up at the dark sky. It was quiet here, almost too quiet. I thought about the others. Were they safe ?

"How are you feeling ?" asked George.

He sat down next to me, looking worried. Thankfully, it was brighter in the clearing than in the woods, so I could see his face, dimly lit by the moonlight.

"I'll be fine. I just hit my head."

"I can see that. You have a nice scratch there. Does it hurt ?"

"A little" I said.

"You should rest, then. You can use my shoulder as a pillow."

I chuckled.

"That's very nice of you" I said.

"I'm always nice."

I finally accepted his offer. However, he was taller than me, so my head only reached his forearm, but I settled my head there. I closed my eyes, enjoying the quietness, trying to chase away the sound of the screams that still echoed in my head. I didn't understand what was happening. Why would these people ruin such a happy event ? And what did their presence mean ? I tried not to think about it too much – it scared me a lot more than I would ever admit. A few minutes later, I heard George's voice.

"Hey, you should take a look at this" he said.

I opened my eyes and looked up to where he was staring. I felt cold shivers run through my body as I observed the black sky. I knew exactly what that was.

"What is that ?" asked Fred, frowning.

"That's the Dark Mark" I said.

"The what ?"

"The Dark Mark. You-Know-Who's mark. My uncle told me that he used to make it appear in the sky, just like that, after doing something horrible, like… murder or… you know. It scared everyone, because it always meant bad news."

"That's horrible" sighed Ginny. "Do you think something happened ? Like… do you think someone got murdered ?"

"I hope not" I replied in a small voice.

I felt really bad. How could this day turn into such a horrible nightmare ?

"I think we should get back. It must have calmed down by now" said Fred.

"Yeah, let's go" agreed George.

He helped me up and we silently walked back to the tents area – everything was destroyed, but it was quiet again. The air smelled like ashes. When we reached our tent, who was miraculously intact, only Bill, Charlie and Percy were there. They let out a sigh of relief when they saw us.

"It's good to see you" said Bill.

"Did you see Ron, Hermione and Harry ?" asked Percy.

"No. We lost them on our way to the woods" sighed Fred.

"Addy, what happened to your head ?" said Charlie, grabbing my arm.

He made me sit on a chair, and I noticed that his jacket was torn. Looking around, I realized that Bill was holding a bandage on his arm and that Percy's nose was bleeding.

"What happened to you all ?" I asked.

"Later. We need to take care of this first" he said, motioning to my forehead.

"But the others –"

"Leave it, Addy."

With a swift move of his wand, he made a wet cloth appear, and gently pressed it against my forehead. I hissed in pain.

"I'm sorry if it hurts, but I have to clean the wound" said Charlie.

I nodded, knowing he was right.

"Someone, hold that."

George quickly appeared, looking pale. I noticed his hair was messy on his head – well, more than usual.

"Just hold it there, without pressure" explained Charlie. "I'll be right back."

George nodded, and took his brother's place. I observed Charlie as he started to tear up the sheets from the nearest bed, probably to make me a bandage similar to Bill's.

"You all right ?" asked George.

I looked at him.

"Of course I am."

I smiled, and I was glad to see him smile back. Charlie reappeared next to me, and when George removed the cloth, he carefully wrapped the tissue around my head. When he was done, I was already feeling much better.

"Is that how you take care of your dragons ?" I asked him.

"It's a bit different" he said with a smile. "They're certainly bigger, and they're more… unpredictable."

"So how is that different from Addy, specifically ?" asked Fred, looking innocent.

I threw a pillow at him, chuckling. Then, Arthur appeared in the tent with Harry, Ron and Hermione. We all let out a sigh of relief – now, everyone was safe.

"Did you get them, Dad ? The person who conjured the Mark ?" asked Bill.

"No" answered Arthur. "We found Barty Crouch's elf holding Harry's wand, but we're non the wiser about who actually conjured the Mark."

"What ?"

"Harry's wand ?"

"Mr Crouch's elf ?"

It took a while for them to explain to us what had happened in the woods. I frowned - nothing made any sense. I couldn't believe everything that was happening.

"Dad, we met Draco Malfoy, and he as good as told us his dad was one of those nutter in masks ! And we all know the Malfoys were right in with You-Know-Who" said Ron.

"But what were Voldemort's supporters –"

I flinched, as did everyone. I wasn't used to hear that name spoken aloud.

"Sorry" apologized Harry. "What were You-Know-Who's supporters up to, levitating Muggles ? I mean, what was the point ?"

"The point ?" answered Arthur with a laugh. "Harry, that's their idea of fun. Half the Muggle killings back when You-Know-Who was in power were done for fun. I suppose they had a few drinks tonight and couldn't resist reminding us all that lots of them are still at large. A nice little reunion for them."

The thought made me shiver. Killing for fun ? I couldn't help but think of my parents. They were Muggles. I couldn't understand why someone would kill Muggles just for fun. But it was You-Know-Who and his servants we were talking about.

"But if they were the Death Eaters, why did they Disapparate when they saw the Dark Mark ?" asked Ron. "They'd have been pleased to see it, wouldn't they ?"

The discussion went on for a while longer, but I could feel myself dozing off. At some point, we all decided to go to bed, and to go back to the Burrow early in the morning. I fell asleep quickly, my head buzzing, filled with images of men dressed in black and deadly marks in the dark sky.


	5. vol I : chapter five

_Morniiiiiiing :)  
I just finished my exams for the week, so I thought I would give you guys a new chapter.  
This one takes place at the Burrow - but next chapter, we are heading to everyone's favorite place in the world - Hogwarts!  
Anyway, I hope you like it. Thank you so much for the reviews, the follows and everything. It means a lot - keep them coming!  
Enjoy x_

* * *

 **wildest dreams  
** VOLUME I

* * *

 **CHAPTER FIVE**

* * *

When I opened my eyes again, the sun was shining brightly outside, warming up the tent. I straightened up clumsily, my head throbbing. Hermione was nowhere in sight – but Ginny was still sleeping. I got up, making my way to the other tent to find the others. Most of them were up, and quietly discussing the events of the previous night. I only listened, trying to wrap my head around everything that had happened. It just felt like a very bad dream.

Half an hour later, when everyone was awake, and after Charlie had replaced my bandage, we packed our things and made our way back to the Burrow, eager to get home and eat a good breakfast. I wondered if Molly had heard of what had happened – I quickly found out when she came out of the Burrow, screaming, still wearing her slippers, and ran to us, dropping the paper she was holding.

"Oh, thank goodness, thank goodness !"

She embraced Arthur – her hands were shaking.

"Arthur – I've been worried – so worried… You're all right, you're alive… Oh boys…"

To everyone's surprise, she turned to Fred and George and hugged them so hard their heads hit each other's, making them groan in pain. I couldn't help but quietly laugh at the sight.

" _Ouch !_ Mum – you're strangling us…"

"I shouted at you before you left ! It's all I've been thinking about ! What if You-Know-Who had got you, and the last thing I ever said to you was that you didn't get enough OWLS ? Oh Fred… George…"

"Come on, Molly, we're all perfectly okay" said Arthur, pulling her off the twins. "Bill, pick up that paper, I want to see what it says…"

I glanced at the twins as we made our way to the kitchen. They were rubbing the side of their heads, but they were smirking. We went inside, and I sat down at my usual place at the kitchen table. Of course, Molly had prepared us a huge breakfast – toasts, porridge, sausages, beans, bacon – even pancakes. I reminded myself that I needed to thank her properly before going back to Hogwarts. I started eating, but with my head throbbing painfully, I didn't feel very hungry.

"How's your head ?" asked Charlie, who was sitting in front of me.

"Huh – it's all right" I answered vaguely.

"Does it still hurt ?" he insisted.

"…Yeah. But it's just a headache, I'll be fine."

"Addy, you could have a concussion."

"No. Really, Charlie, I'm fine."

He stared at me, a disapproving look on his face. At that moment, he looked exactly like Molly. It made me smile.

"You're as stubborn as a Chinese Fireball. I'll get you something for the pain."

I didn't know what a Chinese Fireball was, but I could guess. Charlie, with a sigh, stood up and left the kitchen. I glared at the twins, who were busy laughing at their brother's comparison.

"Tossers" I whispered.

George raised his hands in surrender but Fred couldn't stop laughing. I rolled my eyes as Charlie entered the kitchen again, holding what looked like a small candy and a glass of water.

"Charlie, you're starting to be like Dad" said Bill, sitting a few seats away, his nose in the Daily Prophet.

"Bugger off" snapped Charlie with a smirk.

He turned to me, handing me the candy.

"C'mon, try it."

"What is it ?" I asked suspiciously.

"It's called aspirin. Muggle stuff."

"What does it do ?" the twins asked in unison.

"It soothes pain. Don't give me that look, Addy, it won't kill you."

"Are you _sure_ about that ?"

He glared at me and I finally took the small candy.

"What do I do with it ?" I asked miserably.

"You just swallow it."

I gave Charlie one last hesitating look before I put the candy on my tongue and swallowed it with some water.

"What does it taste like ?" asked Bill, obviously curious.

"Nothing, really" I shrugged.

"Muggle medicine is a bit boring" said Charlie.

"Am I supposed to feel something ?"

"No. It takes a while before you'll feel the effects. But you'll feel better in time."

I nodded, and smiled kindly at him.

"Thank you, Charlie."

"Sure. I'm not only good with dragons."

He winked at me, and I chuckled.

"Charlie, please stop flirting with our associate, will you ?" said Fred, pulling a face.

I rolled my eyes – I hated when Fred called me that.

"Not flirting. Dragons are my only love" said Charlie as he left the kitchen.

I laughed, and turned to the twins.

"Associate, really, Fred ? That's all I am to you ?"

"Yes" he said calmly. "Associate and treasurer."

I threw him a piece of toast.

"If you bloody keep calling me that, soon you'll have no treasurer left to handle all your money."

The twins suddenly got grim. I frowned.

"What is it ?"

"Bagman" said George. "Didn't give us our money."

"What ? But I saw –"

"Leprechaun gold" explained Fred. "Disappeared during the night."

I was astonished.

"That slick git !" I exclaimed. "What are you gonna do ?"

The twins shrugged. I felt angry and disappointed, and promised myself that I would find a way to get their money back. That money was all their savings, and a lot more – they had won it, it was theirs. Sighing, I finished breakfast, and later watched the boys and Ginny play Quidditch in the garden. That significantly lifted my spirits, and when they went inside to change, I sat down with Hermione, waiting for them to come back for lunch.

"Do you know what's going to happen at Hogwarts this year ?" I asked her.

"No idea, but it looks like it's going to be big. The Minister himself sounded excited."

"Yeah, well, it's not like we lack action at Hogwarts, right ?"

She chuckled, and nodded. It was true – since Harry's arrival at Hogwarts, there had never been a boring year.

"How's your head ?" she asked.

"Better. Charlie gave me Muggle medicine for pain."

"Oh, aspirin ?"

"Yeah !" I said excitedly.

"My parents use it at their practice. It's very useful."

"Their practice ? What do your parents do ?"

"They're dentists. Like doctors, but for teeth."

"That sounds pretty cool."

She nodded, and I smiled. I wished I knew more about the Muggle World. But I hadn't seen my parents in years. I wondered what my life would have been like if they had raised me instead of my uncle. I would probably know all of that stuff, like Hermione.

"Your parents are Muggles too, are they not ?"

The question caught me off guard, but I nodded.

"Yeah. I haven't seen them since I was six, though."

"Why not ?"

Hermione seemed genuinely curious – and I knew I could trust her.

"I think they got scared when they learned I was a witch. They didn't think they could handle it. So they dropped me off at my uncle's, and I never saw them again."

"That's awful" gasped Hermione.

I shrugged.

"It's okay. And growing up with my uncle was actually really cool. He would take me on his tours, and he really took good care of me."

"I always forget your uncle is Myron Wagtail" she chuckled.

"Yeah – and the band, they're basically all my uncles, you know ? So it was weird at times, but it was mostly great."

We kept talking for a while, and after lunch, I wrote a long letter to my uncle to assure him that I was safe and well. I sent Errol with the letter and the scarf I got him. My conversation with Hermione had gotten me thinking about my parents. Did they know what was happening in the wizarding world right now ? How would they react if they knew ? Would they ask if I was all right ? But I quickly tried to take my mind off the subject. It was no use thinking about that, after all.

We spent the rest of that week just playing Quidditch and spending time in the twins' room coming up with a new product. They had had an idea during the summer : something that gave you fever, so you could get out of classes. The twins had starting working on that and it was going very well. We had even found a name for it – Fever Fudge. We also tried to get in touch with that prat Ludo Bagman – but he seemed untraceable. When we finally found an address, the twins started writing him a letter, asking for their money. They had to be discreet, however, as Molly still didn't know about the bet. Everyone was busy – Arthur and Percy were almost constantly at the Ministry, and the others tried to keep up with the current news.

The night before our return to Hogwarts, we all met in the living room so that Percy could give us the latest updates about the current situation at the Ministry. I sat with Fred and George, in a remote corner, as they were still working on their letter to Bagman.

"It's been an absolute uproar. I've been putting out fires all week. People keep sending Howlers, and of course, if you don't open a Howler straight away, it explodes. Scroch marks all over my desk and my best quill reduced to cinders" mumbled Percy.

"Why are they all sending Howlers ?" asked Ginny.

"Complaining about security at the World Cup. They want compensation for their ruined property. Mundungus Fletcher's put in a claim for a twelve-bedroomed tent with en-suite Jacuzzi, but I've got his number. I know for a fact he was sleeping under a cloack propped on sticks."

I wondered how exactly could Percy know that. I heard Fred and George whisper frenetically beside me. Obviously, they didn't agree on something, which was a rare thing. I turned to ask them what was going on, but I was interrupted.

"What are you three up to ?" suddenly asked Molly.

"Homework" quickly answered Fred.

"Don't be ridiculous, you're still on holiday…"

"Yeah, we've left it a bit late" said George.

"You're not, by any chance, writing out a new order form, are you ? You wouldn't be thinking of restarting Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, by any chance ?"

"Now, Mum" declared Fred. "If the Hogwarts Express crashed tomorrow, and George and I died, how would you feel to know that the last thing we ever heard from you was an unfounded accusation ?"

I bit my lip to keep from laughing out loud. Molly's ears went red, and I was sure she would reciprocate, but she ended up laughing with the rest of us. Arthur appeared and the conversation about the Ministry started again. I turned to the twins, who went back to their parchment.

"Look, Fred, I want the money as much as you do, but maybe it's not worth risking that much."

"What do you mean, 'risking that much' ?" I asked.

"George believes that by sending a letter to Bagman, we could be accused of blackmailing."

"Huh – I guess you could be. Really depends on what you write, and how you write it."

"I'm not sure about this" said George, gesturing the parchment. "This sounds pretty aggressive to me."

"Maybe you should wait" I said. "He's probably very busy with everything going on at the Ministry, and your letter would probably just get lost in the lot. Wait until we're at Hogwarts, and if you still haven't heard from him at the end of the first term, send it."

The twins exchanged a look.

"Okay. Sounds good" said Fred.

"Agreed" nodded George.

I smiled. We stayed in the living room for a while, and soon it was time for bed. Even if I was excited to go back to Hogwarts, and see Angelina and the others again, I felt extremely tired, and had no trouble falling asleep.


	6. vol I : chapter six

_Hello! Hope you are all having a fantastic day!  
_ _I just bought a ticket to go visit Oxford University, which is basically the real-life Hogwarts, so I'm in a very good mood.  
_ _That is why I decided to publish a new chapter. This one was actually a lot longer, but I decided to split it in half - here's the first one.  
We are almost at Hogwarts! How exciting!  
Thank you for the follows and favorites!  
Enjoy x_

* * *

 **wildest dreams  
** VOLUME I

* * *

 **CHAPTER SIX**

* * *

The next day, after I got dressed, I headed for the kitchen and met Bill and Charlie in the stairs. The latter messed up my hair playfully, and I hit him on the shoulder. I would miss him during the school year. Dropping my bag at the front door, I sat down next to Ron and started eating my porridge.

"Did someone say Mad-Eye ?" asked Bill.

"He says someone tried to break into his house last night" said Molly.

"Mad-Eye Moody ?" asked George. "Isn't he that nutter –"

"Your father thinks very highly of Mad-Eye Moody" snapped Molly.

"Yeah, well, Dad collects plugs, doesn't he ?" whispered Fred as Molly left. "Birds of feather…"

"Fred !" I sighed.

"Moody was a great wizard in his time" said Bill.

"He's an old friend of Dumbledore, isn't he ?" asked Charlie.

"Dumbledore's not what you'd call normal, though, is he ? I mean, I know he's a genius and everything…"

I threw a piece of toast at his face to make him shut up. It was going to become a habit, it seemed. Fred glared at me, but I shrugged. I wanted to hear more about this Mad-Eye Moody.

"Who _is_ Mad-Eye ?" asked Harry.

"He's retired, used to work at the Ministry" explained Charlie. "I met him once when Dad took me into work with him. He was an Auror – one of the best… a Dark Wizard catcher. Half the cells in Azkaban are full because of him. He made himself loads of enemies, though… the families of people he caught, mainly… and I heard he's been getting really paranoid in his old age. Doesn't trust anyone anymore. Sees Dark Wizards everywhere."

I raised an eyebrow. He seemed to be an interesting bloke. A bit scary, yes, but still interesting. We all finished breakfast and then waited for the taxis Molly had called. It had seemed like a bad idea to cram all of us _and_ our luggage into cars to get to London, but then again, I preferred it to Floo Power. The ride to King's Cross was a complete disaster, from the fireworks in Fred's luggage exploding and Crookshanks attacking one of the drivers. It was a relief for everyone when we finally got to the station and passed the gate.

Soon, it was time to say goodbye. I hugged Molly tightly, thanking her again for everything she had done, and Bill, and finally Charlie.

"I hope I'll see you next summer" I told him.

"Well… I might be seeing you all sooner than you think" he said, grinning.

"Why ?" asked Fred.

"Yeah, what does that mean ?" I said.

"You'll see" replied Charlie with a mysterious smile. "Just don't tell Percy I mentioned it… it's 'classified information, until such time as the Ministry decides to release it', after all."

"Yeah, I sort of wish I were back at Hogwarts this year" nodded Bill.

" _Why_ ?" insisted George.

"You're going to have an interesting year. I might even get time off to come and watch a bit of it…"

"A bit of _what_ ?"

The train whistled, but none of us moved, as we were all waiting for Bill's answer. But Molly hurried us inside the train, and we closed the door behind us before leaning out the window to say goodbye.

"Thanks for having us to stay, Mrs. Weasley" said Hermione.

"Yeah, thanks for everything, Mrs. Weasley" added Harry.

"Thanks again, Molly !" I said.

"Oh it was my pleasure, dears. I'd invite you for Christmas, but… well, I expect you're all going to want to stay at Hogwarts, what with… one thing and another."

"Mum !" snapped Ron. "What d'you three know that we don't ?"

"You'll find out this evening, I expect. It's going to be very exciting – mind you, I'm very glad they changed the rules –"

"What rules ?" we all said together.

"I'm sure Professor Dumbledore will tell you… Now, behave, won't you ? _Won't_ you, Fred ? And you, George ? Addy, make sure they do, won't you ?"

"Tell us what's happening at Hogwarts !" said Fred. "What rules are they changing ?"

But Bill, Charlie and Molly only waved at us, and Disapparated before the train turned the first corner.

"This whole thing is too bloody intriguing" exclaimed George as we went to search for a compartment.

"At least, we'll know tonight" I sighed.

We miraculously found an empty one and started developing theories about what the mysterious event could be. It had only been a few minutes when the compartment door slid open, and we turned to see who it was. I immediately screamed, jumping into my best friend's arms.

"ANGIE !"

Behind her was Alicia and Lee, and I hugged them too before we all sat down. I was thrilled to see them again – Hogwarts was nothing without them. Alicia still wore her shiny dark hair to her hips, Angelina had cut hers to her shoulders, which suited her really well, and Lee still had his dreadlocks and his big, familiar grin.

I immediately asked them about the mystery event, and if they knew something more than us – but sadly, they didn't. Then, the conversation inevitably turned to Quidditch. After all, Fred, George, Alicia and Angelina were on the team, Lee was commenting and I was probably their biggest fan. We talked about the World Cup, but avoided discussing the events that had occurred the night after.

"Have you seen Krum's Wronski Feint ? Epic, that was" exclaimed Lee.

"I would kill to be able to do it myself" said Angelina.

"We tried it last week" said George.

"It ended very badly for Ron" added Fred.

"What happened ?" asked Alicia.

I snickered.

"Let's just say we're lucky Charlie has good reflexes and was able to catch him in time" I laughed.

"Oh, Charlie" whispered Alicia, giving me a look.

"What is that look all about ?" asked Fred, eyeing me suspiciously.

"Nothing ! Alicia is just convinced I fancy him."

"What ?!" exclaimed George.

"You do !" Alicia laughed.

"Rubbish !"

"Addy, he's our _brother_ " muttered Fred, looking disgusted.

"Calm down, I don't fancy him !"

"You told me yourself that he was handsome !" exclaimed Alicia.

Fred choked on the Bertie Bott's flavored bean he was eating. I rolled my eyes, slightly blushing.

"What ?" I muttered. "He is."

"I'm with you on this, Addy. He is really charming" said Angelina.

" _Thank you_ !"

Fred and George were obviously about to complain but were interrupted by Lee who shouted in excitement as the trolley lady passed in front of our compartment.

"Haven't had an Acid Pop in forever" he said, grinning, after he sat back down.

"I don't understand how you can eat so many of those" said Alicia.

"Yeah, it's probably melted a hole in your stomach by now" I chuckled.

He mumbled something that looked like 'I don't care'. After we agreed on the fact that if Lee ate more than fifty Acid Pops this year, his stomach would end up looking like swiss cheese, I stepped out to go the loo. When I got back to the compartment, I saw a familiar face walk in the opposite direction.

"Graham Montague, how nice it is to see you again !" I said with a bright smile.

The Slytherin stopped – as I was blocking the way – glaring darkly at me. The compartment door opened to the twins, who were grinning.

"Get out of the way, Harlowe" he replied, eyes narrowed.

I ignored him, leaning against the window to block the corridor completely. He sighed loudly.

"How was your summer ? Have you finally worked on those awful Quidditch skills ?"

I was still smiling at him – that always made him furious. I could hear the twins laugh hysterically beside us. We all hated Montague, that poor excuse of a Slytherin Quidditch Chaser, but I always felt like there was something special between him and me – he adored calling me a Mudblood and I adored driving him mad by not caring at all. I hadn't lost my touch, it seemed, because he took a step forward, looking down at me – I was quite short compared to him, so he probably thought he looked intimidating.

"Let me pass, Mudblood."

"Well you certainly haven't worked on your sense of humour."

Fred, George, Lee, Angelina and Alicia all snickered, which really seemed to put Montague on edge – he gave me one last dark, nasty look before shoving me out of the way to continue walking. I shook my head, laughing.

"See you at the Quidditch pitch !" I shouted.

He didn't even turn around. I turned to the others, and we all bursted out laughing.


	7. vol I : chapter seven

_Here it is ! Hope you guys like it - it is one of my favorites !  
Please review - keeps me motivated to hear from you :)  
Enjoy x_

* * *

 **wildest dreams  
** VOLUME I

* * *

 **CHAPTER SEVEN**

* * *

The rest of the train ride went as usual – Chocolate Frogs, Quidditch, a few pranks, and a lot of talking, as we caught up with everyone's summer. Pamela and Melinda, the two other girls I shared my dorm with, came to say hi. I felt happier than ever, the worry of the last few days fading away as we got closer to the castle. Once we got there, it was raining so badly we were soaked as soon as we stepped on the station. I felt very relieved to use the carriages, and not the boats like the first years.

The castle hadn't changed, not one bit. But Hogwarts never changed – it was always this warm, welcoming, beautiful place – even with Peeves dropping water balloons on the heads of the students. We hurried inside the Great Hall, and sat at our usual places.

"I am _so_ hungry" moaned Alicia. "I hope the Repartition won't take too long."

"And that bloody song too" I muttered.

"Hey, look" said George. "No one is sitting at the DADA teacher's seat."

"I reckon they didn't find anyone" said Angelina.

"Wouldn't be very surprising. The job is cursed, after all" replied Lee.

I took a look at the teacher's table but only saw familiar faces. George was right – one seat was empty. I already missed Lupin as I noticed that Snape was still there, as well as Mrs Sprout. I had never been very good at Herbology. However, Flitwick and Babbling were still there – Charms and Ancient Runes were my favorite classes. And of course, there was Dumbledore, radiant in his bright green robe, smiling quietly at the students.

When everyone was sat down, the doors opened again to the usual group of first years. I felt bad for them – they were all soaked from head to toe. They looked anxious, as I remembered I was five years ago. Only one of them was smiling brightly as he looked around him. The Sorting Hat sang his usual song, and the Sorting Ceremony started. There were a surprising number of Hufflepuffs, but I only really cared about the new Gryffindors, which I cheered for loudly with the others.

"I have only two words to say to you" said Dumbledore after everyone was sorted. "Tuck in."

I nearly screamed of excitement as the plates in front of us filled up with the delicious food only Hogwarts could offer. I started eating enthusiastically. We didn't talk much while we were eating, as we were all so hungry and tired – I only listened with one ear to Hermione talk about the right of the House Elves working in the kitchen.

"I honestly don't know how people can survive without this food" said Lee.

"Neither do I" I nodded.

"There's probably –" started Fred.

Angelina shushed him, putting a hand on his arm. Fred stopped mid-sentence, staring at his arm. I smirked to myself as Dumbledore stood up again. I put down my pumpkin juice, curious to see what he would say – would he announce what was happening in Hogwarts this year ?

"So !" Dumbledore started, smiling mysteriously. "Now that we are all fed and watered, I must once more ask for your attention, while I give out a few notices. Mr. Filch, the caretaker, has asked me to tel you that the list of objects forbidden inside the castle has this year been extended to include Screaming Yo-yos, Fanged Frisbees, and Ever-Bashing Boomerangs. The full list comprises some four hundred and thirty-seven items, I believe, can be viewed in Mr. Filch's office, if anybody would like to check it."

I exchanged an amused look with the twins. That list had always been more of a list of challenges than restrictions for them.

"As ever" Dumbledore continued, "I would like to remind you all that the forest on the grounds is out-of-bounds to students, as is the village of Hogsmeade to all below third year. It is also my painful duty to inform you that the Inter-House Quidditch Cup will not take place this year."

I gasped in horror, staring at Dumbledore. _What ?!_ I looked at the others, trying to see if it was some sort of joke, but they all seemed as much in shock as I was.

" _What ?_ " I heard Harry say.

"They can't do that !" quietly shrieked Alicia.

I was too astonished to say anything.

"This is due to an event that will be starting in October, and continuing throughout the schoolyear, taking up much of the teachers' time and energy – but I am sure you will all enjoy it immensely. I have great pleasure in announcing that this year at Hogwarts –"

I was so focused on Dumbledore that when a rumble of thunder disrupted his speech, I jumped and nearly screamed in surprise. The doors of the Great Hall opened, and a man staggered in the room, leaning against a cane that made a loud noise everytime it hit the floor. The man, almost hiding inside his travelling robe, looked like a ghost. A bolt of lightening suddenly lit up his face, and he pulled his hood down. I immediately saw the piercing blue, ever-moving glass eye, and instantly knew it the man we had been talking about at the Burrow – Mad-Eye Moody.

He clumsily made his way to the teacher's table, shook Dumbledore's hand, and without a word, sat down at the empty seat and started to eat. The entire Great Hall was silently staring at him. I couldn't look away.

"May I introduce our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher ? Professor Moody."

Dumbledore and Hagrid were the only ones to clap. I exchanged a look with the twins – they seemed quite startled, but fascinated.

"As I was saying" said Dumbledore after clearing his throat. "We are to have the honor of hosting a very exciting event over the coming months, an event that has not been held for over a century."

The room seemed to suddenly forget about Moody, and fell in complete silence.

"It is my very great pleasure to inform you that the Triwizard Tournament will be taking place at Hogwarts this year."

"You're JOKING !" screamed Fred.

He looked as if his eyes would pop out of his head. The entire Great Hall broke into laughter, bringing the atmosphere back to normal. I shook my head slowly, smirking.

"I am not joking, Mr. Weasley, though now that you mention it, I did hear an excellent one over the summer about a troll, a hag and a leprechaun who all go into a bar…"

McGonagall cleared her throat loudly and I couldn't hold back my laughter, suddenly feeling very restless. The Triwizard Tournament ! I certainly wasn't expecting that ! My Uncle had told me about it once. I remembered that it was quite an event, and very dangerous too.

"Er – but maybe this is not the time… No… where was I ? Ah yes, the Triwizard Tournament… Well, some of you will not know what this tournament involves, so I hope those who do know will forgive me for giving a short explanation, and allow their attention to wander freely."

Fred and George started to whisper frenetically, grinning from ear to ear.

"Best news _ever_ " chuckled Fred.

"Are you going to enter ?" I asked.

"Obviously" the twins said in unison.

"Not you ?" asked George, frowning.

"I dunno. I heard it's quite dangerous."

"Rubbish" said Fred.

"But people died !"

"People _died_ ?" asked Angelina, joining the conversation.

"That's what my uncle told me."

"Well, people dying or not, the other schools are still coming" she said with a smirk.

I gasped excitedly.

"Do you think - Durmstrang ?" I exclaimed.

Angelina nodded enthuastically, but the twins rolled their eyes.

"Guys, listen !" said Alicia.

"…that this time, no champion will find himself or herself in mortal danger. The heads of Beauxbatons and Durmstrang will be arriving with their short-listed contenders in October, and the selection of the three champions will take place at Halloween. An impartial judge will decide which students are most worthy to compete for the Triwizard Cup, the glory of their school, and a thousand Galleons personal prize money."

"A thousand ?!" I muttered.

"I'm going for it !" declared Fred.

Everyone started whispering excitedly.

"Imagine what you could do with a _thousand_ Galleons !" I told the twins.

"Eager though I know all of you will be to bring the Triwizard Cup to Hogwarts, the heads of the participating schools, along with the Ministry of Magic, have agreed to impose an age restriction on contenders this year. Only students who are of age – that is to say, seventeen years or older – will be allowed to put forward their names for consideration."

I groaned, and glanced at the twins – they looked furious.

"This – is a mesure we feel is necessary, given that the tournament tasks will still be difficult and dangerous, whatever precautions we take, and it is highly unlikely that students below sixth and seventh year will be able to cope with them. I will personally be ensuring that no underage studenthood winks our impartial judge into making them Hogwarts champion. I therefore beg you not to waste your time submitting yourself if you are under seventeen."

I could swear he was looking directly at the twins. I pulled a face – how disappointing. The twins looked absolutely devastated, but I noticed that Angelina was listening attentively. Her birthday was in less than two weeks, after all, so she would be able to submit her name. I was happy for her – and also slightly relieved that my birthday was in November. I could never participate in such a Tournament, I knew that. Dumbledore soon finished his speech, and everyone stood up to leave, except a few of us.

"They can't do that !" exclaimed George. "We're seventeen in April, why can't we have a shot ?"

"They're not stopping me entering" declared Fred. "The champions'll get to do all sorts of stuff you'd never be allowed to do normally. And a thousand Galleons prize money !"

"Yeah. Yeah, a thousand Galleons…" said Ron.

"Come on, we'll be the only ones left here if you don't move" said Hermione.

We all started to make our way up to the Common Room – I walked beside George, who seemed thoughtful.

"'Personally ensuring' ? What do you reckon he meant by that ?" asked George.

"George, it's Dumbledore. I wouldn't even try" I sighed.

"Where's your sense of adventure ?" he said with a smile.

I glared at him, smirking.

"There's a difference between being adventurous and trying to outsmart bloody _Dumbledore_ , George" I said.

"I don't see any" he shrugged.

"That's because you're mad as a hatter. But I'm not complaining, I'm just eager to see what terrible plan you're gonna come up with – and then watch you fail miserably."

"Yeah, you love that, don't you ?" he said.

I chuckled, not bothering to deny. He knew me better than that. George always _got_ me – always knew how I felt about everything. It could be annoying sometimes, but I did enjoy having him around. A lot more than I would ever admit.

"Who's this impartial judge who's going to decide who the champions are ?" asked Harry.

"Dunno" said Fred. "But it's them we'll have to fool. I reckon a couple of drops of Aging Potion might do it, George."

"Dumbledore knows you're not of age, though" said Ron.

"Yeah, but he's not the one who decides who the champion is, is he ? Sounds to me like once this judge knows who wants to enter, he'll choose the best from each school and never mind how old they are. Dumbledore's trying to stop us giving our names."

"People have died, though !" cried Hermione.

"That's what I told them" I shrugged.

"Yeah, but that was years ago, wasn't it ? Anyway, where's the fun without a bit of risk ? Hey, Ron, what if we find out how to get 'round Dumbledore ? Fancy entering ?" said Fred.

"What d'you reckon ?" asked Ron to Harry. "Be cool to enter, wouldn't it ? But I s'pose they might want someone older… Dunno if we've learned enough…"

"I definitely haven't" said a voice behind me.

I took a look behind my shoulder to see Neville Longbottom, looking quite grim. I smiled in amusement as I followed Fred and George up the stairs. We all sat down in front of the fire in the Common Room, talking about the Tournament, trying to figure out a way around Dumbledore's protection. Everyone had gone to bed, except me and the twins.

"Well, at least one of us can enter if we can't" I sighed.

"What ? Who ?" asked Fred, frowning.

"Angelina, you prat. It's her birthday in two weeks."

"Oh" he muttered.

"Don't forget to get her something."

"Why would I get her something ?"

"Because you're her friend ! And because I know you fancy her."

"What !"

I chuckled at Fred's face. I had always known Fred had a thing for Angelina – but they were both so stubborn, neither would ever say anything. Fred pulled a face, and without another word, stood up and went up the stairs to his dormitory. I turned to George, who was sitting on the other side of the couch.

"It's so bloody obvious" I whispered to George. "Why doesn't he ask her out ?"

George shrugged.

"I reckon he's worried she'll say no."

"Rubbish. That's all she's waiting for."

"She told you that ?"

"She doesn't need to. Female sixth sense."

George chuckled. I stared at him.

"Seriously, George. If you fancied a girl, wouldn't you just tell her ?"

He stared back. There was a short silence before he answered.

"I dunno" he answered vaguely, shrugging.

"Since when are you so shy ?" I laughed. "I seem to recall a certain Valentine's Day, a few years ago. Who was that girl you invited ? The Ravenclaw ?"

"Rosie Buffers" he said, chuckling.

"Rosie, dear old Rosie" I nodded. "It was our third year, and Fred dared you to get a date because he thought you couldn't do it. And you – George Weasley, you picked the bloody first girl you saw and invited her to Hogsmeade."

"And she said yes."

"And she said yes !" I exclaimed.

I was laughing really hard by then, remembering that moment from what seemed like so long ago. George shrugged.

"What can I do, Addy – I _am_ the best looking Gryffindor around."

"A true heart-breaker" I nodded, laughing.

"You're one to talk" he said.

"What is that supposed to mean ?"

"Addy, did you forget you were dating _Oliver Wood_ last year ?"

I sighed.

"Oh, George, will you ever get over it ?"

"No ! He was two years older than you."

"That doesn't matter ! And I thought you liked Oliver."

"I do, that's not the issue !"

"Then what _is_ the issue ? Because I never understood why you were always such a git about it."

"I just – oh, you know what ? It doesn't matter."

I stared at him as he turned away to look at the fire. I sighed loudly. What didn't he want to tell me ? What could be so embarrassing about it ? The only reasons that came to mind were absolutely ludicrous – George could never have been… Jealous ? No, that was impossible.

"Well, Ican't wait to meet the foreign students" I said, eager to change the subject.

"Bulgarians and French. What's so exciting ?" shrugged George.

"Bulgarians are fantastic at Quidditch. And maybe some of them know Krum."

"I thought you didn't like Krum."

"What – when did I say that, exactly ?"

"How would I know ? I only listen to half the things you say."

I glared at him, but he was smiling – he was smiling that adorable, mischievous little smile. I leaned forward and punched him in the stomach.

"You're an idiot."

"I know."

He caught my hand – and I stared at him while he stared at me, and I suddenly I could feel butterflies. It only lasted a moment, though, because I quickly felt myself blushing and stood up.

"Well, on that note – I'm going to bed."

"Goodnight" he said.

I smiled softly and ran up the stairs, hoping he didn't notice my red cheeks and didn't hear my heart pounding in my chest.


	8. vol I : chapter eight

_Gooooooood morning! (it's actually 20:43 here, but I've been studying all day... forgive me... I'm tired)  
_ _This chapter is a little slow, I have to agree, but there are great things to come, so don't give up on me yet!  
I've been writing good stuff... you guys are going to looooove chapter 25 :)  
_ _I hope you guys enjoy this one anyway!  
_ _Thank you again for the follows, favorites, and to orlisgirl04 and missimpedimenta96 who reviewed last chapter and were so sweet. Lots of love.  
_ _Enjoy! x_

* * *

 **wildest dreams  
** VOLUME I

* * *

 **CHAPTER EIGHT**

* * *

A loud sigh escaped my lips when I sat in Charms class the next day. As happy as I was to be back at Hogwarts, and to see everyone again, I certainly could've done without the classes. Fortunately, the term was starting pretty well with Flitwick. I was good at spells – Flitwick kept telling me I was talented – so it definitely helped keeping me motivated. The class started with Flitwick giving his usual start-of-year speech, congratulating us on our OWLS. He told us we would start the year with nonverbal spells, which was something I was quite excited about. An apple appeared in front of each of us and we had to try and make it levitate without saying the incantation aloud. Only Angelina, me and a few others succeeded. Fred's apple had melted on his desk and York, a student from Ravenclaw, made it explode.

After Charms, I went to Ancient Runes with Alicia, while the others had taken other options. It was probably my favorite class – even though I wasn't very good at it, I found the subject fascinating, and I got along very well with the teacher, Mrs. Babbling, who kindly smiled at me when I came in.

When I sat in the Great Hall after the class, Fred and George were already eating – after all, they had a free period while I was in Runes.

"How was it ?" asked Fred.

"Not too bad" said Alicia.

"True, but I feel it's going to be a pain. We already have a homework _and_ the readings."

"Remind me why you too _three_ options again, Addy ?" asked George, frowning.

"Because, my dear, I need those three options if I ever want to get a job."

I stole a chip from his plate, eyebrows raised, and he chuckled. I had wanted to work in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement at the Ministry ever since I was little. I had no idea where it came from – it was just always what I wanted to do. I knew that by choosing this career, I had promised myself two very busy and difficult years at Hogwarts, but I knew it would be worth it in the end.

"We have DADA after lunch" said Fred with enthusiasm.

"I'm very curious to see that Moody in action" said Alicia.

"He's a genius, apparently" added Fred.

"You called him a nutter yesterday" I sighed.

"Yeah, well, you know what they say – there's a fine line between genius and insanity."

I rolled my eyes.

"Sure, Gred. Sure."

Then, Angelina and Lee came back from Care of Magical Creatures and told us about the class while we finished eating before we all walked to DADA. I felt excited, but also a little nervous. This Moody had not looked very reassuring. I already missed Lupin – after Quirrell and Lockhart, he had been like a breath of fresh air. Once we got to the classroom, I saw Angelina quickly sit down beside Fred. Smirking, I sat down with George, who winked at me.

"Interesting" he said once I had sat down.

"What is that supposed to mean, Forge ?" I sighed.

"Nothing."

I stared at him, but he was looking straight in front of him, smirking to himself. Groaning, I poked him with my quill.

"Oi ! What was that for ?"

"For being a git."

"How have I been a git ?"

"You just are."

I smirked. We stared at each other, and I suddenly felt like blushing. Why did I always feel like blushing when George was staring at me ? Maybe because he always that look in his eyes, that weird, terrible look that I enjoyed so much. I was about to blurt out something out of awkwardness, but fortunately, Moody chose that specific moment to show up.

"Alastor Moody. Ex-Auror. Say 'present' when I call your name."

As he called the names, his eye twirled around, intensely staring at everybody.

"Harlowe, Adelaide."

I was so captivated by his eye that I didn't even hear my name at first – it took George to give me a nudge before I reacted.

"Pr-present !" I stuttered.

"Hertown, Evan."

I breathed out, ignoring George's chuckle. What a great first impression. Moody quickly finished taking the attendance and put down the list, his blue eye carefully studying each of our faces. I had never heard a class be so silent.

"Professor Lupin sent me a letter to tell me where you were in the curriculum. You may think you are quite advanced, but I am here to tell you that _you are not_. I am here to teach you how to defend yourself – truly defend yourself. I am sure none of you would survive an attack from a Dark Wizard if one happened to enter this class today."

I raised an eyebrow. That was quite a welcoming speech.

"You must be ready, for whatever may come your way. CONSTANT VIGILANCE !"

"Yeah, definitely a nutter" whispered George.

Suddenly, Moody's eye landed directly on George, who seemed to tense. Then, the eye shifted on me, and I felt my eyes widen.

"Miss Harlowe, isn't it ?" he asked me in a calm voice.

"Yes" I answered, my voice higher than usual.

"Do you know what the Unforgivable Curses are, Miss Harlowe ?"

"Er – I think so."

"Tell me !"

"Well, er – they are the worst spells you can cast. They require a lot of power and will, and the use of one is enough to send you to Azkaban..."

"Precisely. Good, very good."

Moody was smiling – or he looked like he was. I shivered.

"And you, Mr. Weasley ?" he said, turning to George. "Do you know one of them ? I bet you do."

"Yeah, I know of one" said George. "The Imperius Curse ?"

"Excellent. This curse has the power to control someone, to control their mind."

Moody turned to his desk and opened one of the jars that were on it. When he faced us again, he was holding a huge spider in his hand. There were a few gasps in the room, and I felt a shiver go through my spine. I had never liked spiders – I hated everything that crawled. He raised his wand and pointed it to the spider.

"Impero !" he said in a loud voice.

At first, nothing happened, but when Moody moved his wand, the spider followed, ending up on the desk in front of him. It was soon clear that he was controlling the spider's movements, as he made it float in the air and walk on someone's head. I found it quite amusing, and joined the general laughter.

"And now what ? What could I make her do ? Jump out the window ? Drown herself ?"

 _Oh._ The laughter immediately faded as Moody brought the spider back to his hand.

"The Imperius Curse is the hardest to detect, because how can we know if someone is acting out of their own will, or someone else's ? That is why you need to stay alert… CONSTANT VILIGANCE ! C'mon, another one !"

A Slytherin raised his hand.

"What about the Cruciatus Curse, Professor ?"

"Ha, yes. Particularly cruel."

He put the spider back on his desk and once again pointed his wand at it. I had to slightly lean on George to be able to see, even though I wasn't sure I wanted to.

"Crucio !"

It was very faint, but I could still hear it – the spider was shrieking in pain. It seemed to be struggling against something invisible, something strong, something she couldn't fight back against. It was torture. I suddenly felt sick. What was the point of us ? Why show us this ? I didn't realize I was grabbing George's shirt until Moody ended the curse, and I relaxed.

"Sorry" I whispered, but George shrugged, not looking one bit bothered.

"The Torture Curse. It was You-Know-Who's habit to torture the wizards he captured, to torture them until they lost their minds and begged to be killed. The Ministry doesn't want you to know these things, but I believe you must be prepared ! You must know what is out there !"

I felt very uncomfortable. Would every class be like this ?

"What about the last Curse ? Anyone ? No ? Very well."

He pointed his wand at the spider again, and I dreaded the worst.

"Avada Kedavra !"

The spider collapsed on the desk, dead.

I was still shaken when we sat down at dinner. The image of that spider, falling dead on the desk, unable to defend itself – it was horrible. I didn't really know what to think of Moody – he seemed unstable to me, but also quite knowledgeable. It would be an interesting year, no doubt. We sat down with Harry, Ron and Hermione.

"Moody !" said Fred. "How cool is he ?"

"Beyond cool" replied George.

"Supercool" nodded Lee. "We had him this afternoon."

"What was it like ?" asked Harry with enthusiasm.

The twins exchanged looks.

"Never had a lesson like it" declared Fred.

"He _knows,_ man" said Lee.

"Knows what ?" asked Ron.

"Knows what it's like to be out there _doing_ it" said George.

"Doing what ?" asked Harry.

"Fighting the Dark Arts."

"He's seen it all."

"'Mazing" agreed Lee.

I shared a look with Hermione. She didn't look as excited as Ron and Harry. Ron fumbled through his bag to find his schedule.

"We haven't got him till Thursday !" he sighed.

I couldn't help but chuckle at his obvious disappointment, and turned to Angelina.

"Feels weird not to have Quidditch this year" I said.

"Yeah" she nodded. "And I would've been Captain."

"Really ?"

"Wood sent me a letter this summer, saying I should be the one."

"Well, you still have next year – hopefully."

"Yeah, you're right. But I'm still bummed."

"Me too. Merlin, can you imagine if Oliver was still here ? He would have fainted when Dumbledore told us there would be no Quidditch matches."

Angelina laughed, nodding.

"Instant heart attack. Have you gotten any news from him ?"

"Yeah, I saw him at the World Cup – he signed with Puddlemere United."

"You're joking !"

"Yeah, he was pretty happy about it."

I thought back on Oliver at the World Cup, and suddenly got worried. I didn't even know if he was all right. I quickly finished eating and went upstairs to write him a letter, asking him to write back, just to make sure he was okay. Fortunately, he answered me that same night saying that he and his family were fine. Relieved, I was able to relax in the Common Room all night with the twins – we played a few games of Exploding Snap – and I went to bed feeling much better than earlier.


	9. vol I : chapter nine

_Hello everyone!  
I'm going on a trip for the next few days (I'm going to Cardiff!), so I won't be able to update until at least next Wednesday...  
_ _BUT I'm leaving you with this massive chapter, one of my longest, and I suspect that you guys will like the ending... :)_ _  
I hope you like it. I certainly liked writing it.  
Thank you for the support, and thank you orlisgirl04 for reviewing! I truly appreciate it.  
Enjoy x_

* * *

 **wildest dreams  
** VOLUME I

* * *

 **CHAPTER NINE**

* * *

The next Tuesday, we had a new DADA class. I felt a little nervous, remembering what had happened the previous week. If that had just been the introduction, what would Moody teach us next ? I took a look at the twins – they seemed quite excited. We all sat down, and Moody appeared from his office, looking as meaning as usual.

"Very well" he started. "Now that we all know all the Unforgivable Curses in theory – the next logical step would be to move on to practical, is it not ?"

I felt the blood drain out of my face. _Practical_ ? I obviously wasn't the only one to be shocked – everyone starting whispering among themselves. Even Montague, who always made it his job to look like he was better than everyone in the room, looked a little pale.

"Practical, sir ?" asked Angelina, her voice a little higher than usual.

"Yes, Miss Johnson, that's exactly what I said. Everyone, make a queue in front of me."

I exchanged a look with George – he looked more curious than worried. I felt quite nervous. Weren't these curses illegal ? But certainly, a teacher wouldn't make us do something dangerous – would he ? I suddenly wondered if Dumbledore had agreed to this.

When everyone was in line, Moody flickered his wand and moved all the desks to the walls, clearing up some space. Then, he gestured to the first person in the queue to move forward. It was Pamela, one of my roommates.

"Dumbledore wants you to know what it feels like to be under the influence of the Imperius Curse – that way, you will be prepared if you ever have to encounter the effects" said Moody.

I frowned. For some reason, I wasn't sure Dumbledore would approve of any of this – but why would Moody lie ? I watched him attentively as he raised his wand in front of Pamela and muttered 'Impero' – her face went from looking a bit worried to looking passive. Then, when Moody moved his wand to the right, she started to walk in that direction. When he moved it back to the left, she turned around and changed directions. Then, Moody slightly moved his wand, and she suddenly started running around the classroom. Her face didn't change during the whole thing – her eyes looked empty.

When Moody lifted the spell, Pamela stared around her, looking slightly disoriented. Everybody was silent.

"Can you tell us how that felt, Miss Mansfield ?" asked Moody.

Pamela hesitated.

"Er – it felt weird. It was like I couldn't control my body anymore."

Moody nodded, a little smirk on his lips. It made me shiver.

"Sit down. Next."

And then, one after the other, everyone had the Imperius curse casted on them – some would jump around, some would start singing the British national anthem, or some would do both at the same time. At some point, it started getting amusing, but I still felt worried as I saw my turn coming up.

"Did you notice how it seems to get worse from student to student ?" muttered Angelina in my ear while Fred went up the stairs to the professor's office and hanged himself upside down from the railing.

I nodded, and wanted to answer, but it was now her turn. Moody casted the spell and at first, I couldn't understand what she was doing – but when I saw her eyes starting to blink quickly, I understood that she was holding her breath. I was about to say something, feeling my heartbeat quicken, when Moody lifted up the curse. Angelina was shaking when she went back to her seat.

"Ready, Miss Harlowe ?"

I jumped, turning back to Moody, who pointed his wand at me. I felt George squeeze my hand, and I took a deep breath, nodding. I just wanted this to be over as quick as possible.

"Impero."

I immediately felt something come over me – a strange sensation of emptiness, like I was floating into space. I could still see and smell everything around me, but it felt odd. Suddenly, I started walking, and I wanted to gasp out of surprise because it wasn't something _I_ was doing, nothing came out. My mind felt blank – I wasn't myself anymore.

I heard a voice in my head, telling me to walk to the window, and so I did. I heard the voice tell me to open the window, and I did. I heard the voice tell me to climb on the railing, and I did, even though I kept thinking, _no, no, no_. I could feel the wind on my face, my hair dancing behind me, the tears filling up my eyes.

"Hey ! Stop that !" I heard a voice say behind me.

I felt my foot move up – _no, no, no –_ and my whole body shaking, and I saw the ground, so far under me, and I wanted to close my eyes, but I couldn't, and I wanted to scream, but I couldn't.

"Hey, stop it now !" said the voice again.

And just like that, I was back. I immediately steadied myself by grabbing the two sides of the window, my entire body shaking. I couldn't look away from the ground under me.

"Addy. Addy, are you okay ?"

I looked over my shoulder. George was right behind me, with Fred and Angelina close to him. I nodded, unable to speak.

"C'mon, grab my hand."

I shakily took it, and he pulled me back into the classroom. I grabbed onto him, absolutely sure I would collapse if I let go.

"You're sick !" I heard Alicia mutter.

"You had to know what this curse can do" said Moody, staring right at me. "I could have made Miss Harlowe jump, if I had really wanted to. It would have been that easy. And, of course, that jump would have looked like a suicide to everyone."

I held on to George, my legs still shaking as I tried to wrap my mind around what had just happened.

"Excellent control, Miss Harlowe. I could feel you fight against me. But I'm afraid it wasn't enough. CONSTANT VIGILANCE !"

I let out a sigh of relief when Moody ended the class.

"You're all right ?" asked George.

I nodded, and finally let him go.

"Yeah. Fantastic" I replied faintly.

I slowly walked to grab my bag, and silently walked with the others back to the Common Room. I felt sick. I was about to jump. Another second, and I would have jumped. Once we got in the Common Room, I collapsed on one of the couches, pulling my legs up and settling my head on my knees. I was exhausted.

"How are you feeling, Addy ?" asked Angelina, sitting beside me.

"I'll be fine" I muttered.

"I'm not sure of what I think of Moody now" said Lee.

"Definitely mad" said the twins in unison.

"It's not like we're going to get attacked here, at Hogwarts" said Angelina.

"Well, he's right – you can never be too careful" replied Fred. "But that crossed the line."

"Are you sure you're going to be all right, Addy ?" asked Lee.

I nodded, smiling softly, not wanting to worry them too much. I already felt better. I really didn't feel like going to Potions, but I certainly could use the distraction. I didn't want to think about what had happened too much – I needed to change my mind. George sat down beside me in the classroom and we played Hangman the whole time, not listening one minute to Snape's speech about Felix Felicis. That made me feel a lot better. I just didn't want to think about it anymore, and everyone made sure not to bring it up.

The next few weeks flew by quickly. I was really busy with all my classes, and barely had time to do anything because of all the homework and reading I had to do. But, fortunately, I had the twins to drag me out of the library from time to time. We would sometimes work on their products, or just go outside to enjoy the weather while it was still nice, but the vast majority of our time was dedicated to try and figure a way for them to enter the tournament – but we were short of ideas. The twins had tried to ask McGonagall more about the 'new rules' during a Transfiguration class, but she had not been of much help.

On my side, most of the time, I would be sitting in the library or in the Common Room, complaining about all the work I had to do rather than actually work – and one Monday night, near the end of October, George decided he had had enough.

"You're coming with me" he said, standing up and grabbing my arm.

"I can't !" I moaned, trying to push him away. "This essay is due Thursday, and I haven't even bloody started."

"You're not going to do anything anyway ! You're just going to complain all night. C'mon !"

I hesitated, but when he pulled my arm again, I stood up and followed him out the Common Room. He didn't say anything to the others, who just stared at us while we walked out. I didn't know what George had in mind – but I was very curious to find out. And I couldn't say no to spending some time alone with him – I had found myself enjoying that more and more this year.

"Where are we going ?" I said as we walked around the castle.

It was way past curfew – but I was far from worried. George knew the castle very well because of the map he and Fred had discovered in Filch's office during our first year.

"You'll see" he said mysteriously with a smile.

He had let go of my arm – but it was like I could still feel it there. We got on the third floor, and when I saw the Gunhilda statue, I understood where he was taking me.

"George, it's nine o'clock. Honeydukes is closed."

He shrugged, his smile still plastered on his face.

"So what ?" he said.

I watched him as he raised his wand and muttered 'Dissendium'. The statue opened and the small, stone slide appeared.

"And how do you plan on coming back here ? We can't just knock on the front door of the castle ! And I don't even have my coat –"

"Stop being such a wuss – c'mon, let's go."

Without waiting for my answer, he crouched to get in the slide, and disappeared at the end of it. I shook my head, trying very hard not to laugh. A real nutter, he was. But I could never say no to a Weasley. So I went down the slide, meeting him at the other end. It was very dark, so I muttered a 'Lumos', and after we exchanged excited grins, we started walking down the tunnel. I felt like a child again. The walk to Hogsmeade took about an hour – and while we walked, George kept telling me jokes and stories – probably to make me feel better. I couldn't be more grateful, because by the time we got to the other side, I felt a lot more cheerful, like the weight of the past few weeks had been lifted off my shoulders.

When we finally got to the trap-door, my sides were hurting from laughing. George helped me get up into the cellar, and we looked around, making sure to keep the trap-door opened behind us. The place was really quiet, and when we went up into the actual shop, the lights were closed, and there was nobody there. I was surprised that there wasn't any security of any sort – but I wasn't one to complain. George turned to me, his face only lit up by his wand.

"Let's just grab a few things and go back" he said.

I nodded, and started taking my favorite candy from the shelves. I got a few Chocolate Frogs, some Candy Floss and a box of Pumpkin Pasties. I couldn't stop smiling while I was looking around.

"This is so wrong" I whispered.

"That's why it's so great" replied George, grinning from ear to ear.

We bursted out laughing, and after we left some money on the counter – we weren't thieves, after all – we went back down into the cellar, and into the tunnel back to Hogwarts. I thought we were gonna go back to the Common Room, but George sat down in the middle of the path and started eating. I stared at him, a little startled.

"What are you doing ?"

"I'm hungry" he shrugged, his mouth already full of Bertie Bott beans.

"Idiot" I said, shaking my head.

He grinned, and I sat down in front of him. There was no light in that tunnel, except the light from our wands. My heart was still beating fast when I started eating one of the Frogs – but I wasn't exactly sure that it was from the running.

"I can't believe we did that" I said, smiling. "Just imagine McGonagall's face if she discovered us."

"I don't think she'd be really surprised" he replied.

I laughed – that was true. Professor McGonagall was more than used to the twins's pranks and mischief after six years. But she had never punished them very badly – I was sure that it was because she secretly found them funny.

"So, is that better than scowling in front of your books all night ?" asked George with a smirk.

"Definitely better. Thanks, George."

"Anytime."

There was a short silence before he spoke again.

"Hey – can I ask you something ?"

I looked at him – he looked oddly serious.

"Of course" I said.

"It's just – I've been thinking about it a lot, and I was just wondering – you don't have to –"

"Bloody hell, George, just get to the point" I laughed.

"The Imperius Curse. How did it feel ?"

I stared back at him, slightly taken aback. I wasn't expecting this. I hadn't thought about Moody's lesson since – because I had chased it to a corner of my mind, determined not to think about it anymore.

"It's just – I didn't get a chance to do it" said George faintly.

I took a deep breath, trying to find the right words.

"You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to" he added quickly.

"It's okay" I said. "Er – it was scary. Really scary. I just couldn't control my body anymore – and you can feel that someone else is pulling the strings. And you can't really fight against it."

"Sounds intense."

"It was" I nodded slowly.

"Sorry – I shouldn't have brought it up."

"No, it's okay. I think it's good – I should talk about it."

It was true – it felt good to talk about it to someone I trusted, someone I felt safe with.

"It was really scary for us too, you know ?" said George. "You really looked like you were gonna jump – and Moody didn't stop, even when I asked him to."

"That was you ?" I smiled softly.

He nodded.

"Yeah – I couldn't just let him do that."

"Well, I take back what I said – you're not an idiot."

He smiled, and I smiled, and I felt like blushing. Fortunately, he changed the subject, and started telling me about this new product him and Fred were thinking about. The minutes passed, as we talked and laughed, and at one point I had lost all notion of time – I had no idea what time it was. We decided that it was probably best if we went back, and we made our way back. However, when we got the slide, we stopped.

"Er – how are we supposed to go back up ?" I asked.

George was frowning.

"I didn't think about that" he mumbled.

I was as amused as I was discouraged.

"Well, there's only one way to do it" I said, raising an eyebrow.

George eyed me suspiciously, and I crawled into the slide, determined to try and climb it – fortunately, it wasn't very long, and not to steep, so it was doable. I slowly made my way up – not very graciously, I had to admit – by leaning against the stone, moving my feet up one at a time while George was laughing hysterically.

"Why don't you help me instead of laughing at me ?" I told him between my teeth.

"I think you're doing just fine on your own" he replied, still laughing.

"Can't wait to see you try, Weasley !"

I finally got the top, and collapsed on the floor, completely out of breath.

"C'mon, Weasley, get your arse up here" I said.

I peaked inside the slide to see him starting to make his way up. He was still laughing hysterically, though, which made his climb even more challenging. I couldn't help but start laughing too – what a ridiculous night it had been. When George was close to the top, I stretched my hand to help him out, but we were both laughing so hard that when he grabbed it, his feet slipped on the stone and he fell flat on his stomach. I cried out – but he had managed to grab the edge of the slide, and was laying there, his body still shaking from the laughter. It was the funniest thing I had ever seen – and I fell back on the floor, holding my sides.

"Addy, you have to help me" he said, his voice faint.

I kneeled next to the slide, wiping the tears from my eyes.

"Okay, grab my arm" I said, offering it to him.

"Don't let go this time" he groaned.

"I didn't let go, you're the one who slipped" I replied, chuckling.

He grabbed my arm and I started pulling him up. He was quite heavy, but he pulled himself by his feet at the same time, and soon, he was finally out of the slide – and also, on top of me. And for a few seconds, or a few minutes, I wasn't sure – the world had stopped turning. I stared into his eyes, and he stared into mine, and I felt something stir in my stomach. I could see all of him so well – the pale blue of his eyes, the freckles on his cheeks, and his lips – and I suddenly wanted to kiss them.

"Er – sorry" he said, rolling on the floor beside me.

I was so startled, and so flushed – but the only thing I could do was bursting out laughing, and he joined me, and once again it took a few minutes before we were able to calm down. We laid there, on the cold stone floor, next to the statue of Gunhilda, and it felt like we were alone in the world.

After a while, George stood up, and offered me his hand.

"C'mon, let's go back."

I took his hand and he pulled me up. I hoped he couldn't see how hard I was blushing. We walked back to the Common Room in silence, exhausted from our adventure. When we passed the Fat Lady, the room was empty – we realized how late it was, and we both went to bed.

But once I was in bed, I couldn't fall asleep. I couldn't stop thinking about how I had felt, with his lips so close to mine – what was happening to me ? I had never seen George as more than my best friend, or at least I thought so. Was it possible that after all these years, after everything we had been through together, I was starting to develop feelings for him ? Or had they been there along ? I was confused – I had never been very good at this kind of thing. But I couldn't deny that the thought of him kissing me suddenly didn't feel so weird.


	10. vol I : chapter ten

_Good morning everyone!  
_ _I just got back from Cardiff, which was lovely, and I am here with a new chapter.  
_ _Thank you for the favorites and follows, it is great for me to know that you all are out there reading!  
_ _I hope you like it! This chapter introduces a new subplot!  
Enjoy x _

* * *

**wildest dreams  
** VOLUME I

* * *

 **CHAPTER TEN**

A few days later, I woke up feeling quite excited. It was October 30th, after all – the day the students from Durmstrang and Beauxbatons arrived. When I sat down in the Great Hall to eat breakfast, Fred and George were working on their letter for Bagman.

"Making any progress ?" I asked them, spreading jam on my toast.

"It's done" declared Fred. "We are still debating on whether to send it or not."

"Why not ? Because of the blackmailing ?"

"I don't really feel like ending up in Azkaban for a few Galleons" said George.

"Except it's not just a 'few' Galleons, George" sighed Fred.

"And it's your money, you have every right to ask for it" I nodded.

"Still not sure" sighed George.

"Well, he's coming here for the Tournament, right ? Maybe you should try and talk to him in person" I suggested.

"I'm tired of waiting – but it's probably our best option" said George.

"What a bummer" mumbled Fred.

"It's a bummer all right" muttered George. "But if he won't talk to us in person, we'll have to send him the letter after all. Or we'll stuff it into his hand. He can't avoid us forever."

"Who's avoiding you ?" said Ron, sitting down at the table with Harry and Hermione.

The twins sighed. I smiled at them – we didn't see each other as much when we were at Hogwarts, but I really enjoyed the trio's company. Me and Hermione got along really well.

"Wish you would" said Fred.

"What's a bummer ?" insisted Ron.

"Having a nosy git like you for a brother" replied George.

I gave him a nudge.

"You two got any ideas on the Triwizard Tournament yet ? Thought any more about trying to enter ?" asked Harry.

"I asked McGonagall how the champions are chosen but she wasn't telling" said George.

"She just told him to shut up and get on with transfiguring his raccoon" I added with a chuckle.

"Wonder what the tasks are going to be ?" said Ron. "You know, I bet we could do them, Harry. We've done dangerous stuff before."

"Not in front of a panel of judges, you haven't. McGonagall says the champions get awarded points according to how well they've done the task."

"Who are the judges ?" asked Harry.

"Well, the Heads of the participating schools are always on the panel, because all three of them were injured during the Tournament of 1792, when a cockatrice the champions were supposed to be catching went on the rampage" explained Hermione.

I raised an eyebrow. Hermione sure knew a lot of things about a lot of things – it was kind of impressive, actually. She explained how she had read it in _Hogwarts, A History_ and then went on another rant about the House Elves working in the castle. She had founded a campaign to help them get some money for their work – the twins had not signed up, but I had, just because I felt bad for Hermione and wanted to help her out.

"Listen, have you ever been down in the kitchens, Hermione ?" asked George.

"No, of course not" she replied. "I hardly think students are supposed to –"

"Well, we have" said George, indicating me and Fred. "Loads of time, to nick food. And we've met them, and they're _happy._ They think they've got the best job in the world –"

"That's because they're uneducated and brainwashed !" snapped Hermione.

She was about to go on but was interrupted by the arrival of post owls. I looked up expectedly – I hadn't heard from my Uncle in a while. When I finally saw his owl, I smiled and quickly opened his letter. He and the band had finished their tour around France, but had decided to stick around for a few days to see the country. He invited me to join them – but wrote that 'he was sure I'd much rather stay at Hogwarts', which was true. The day went on quite quickly, as everyone was excited about the arrival of the other schools. Nobody payed much attention in class, and at last period, Flitwick gave up and let all of us go early. After dropping our things in the Gryffindor Tower, we all went back to the entrance hall. I joined the line of Gryffindors and noticed how some people had dressed up for the occasion – Alicia had carefully braided her hair and Angelina seemed to be wearing makeup. I hadn't even thought about doing that.

We all stood outside, waiting for the arrival. Luckily, it wasn't too cold, but I was still happy I had put on my sweater before going out. While we were waiting, we all shared theories on how we thought they would arrive – apparition ? Or a Portkey, maybe ? Then, we heard Dumbledore's voice from the back row.

"Aha ! Unless I am very much mistaken, the delegation from Beauxbatons approaches !"

"Where ?" asked some students.

"There !" said another, pointing to the forest.

I looked up, and saw a big, dark thing coming down from the sky. As it got closer, I realized it was a carriage, pulled through the air by flying horses. The carriage landed on the ground a few seconds later, menacing to crash into the first few rows of students.

"Woah" muttered Alicia beside me.

The carriage was pale blue, and the huge horses shook their manes – it was beautiful. I had to stretch my neck out to see the blonde-haired boy pull out the steps from the carriage, but I certainly didn't have to do that to see the first person that came out of it – it was a very, very tall woman. I stared at her in awe, as I did everyone.

"She must be half-giant, like Hagrid !" muttered Angelina excitedly.

I nodded, admiring her shiny hair and nice clothes as she walked to meet Dumbledore. However tall she was, she was very pretty. Then, about a dozen shivering boys and girls came out of the carriage, all wearing silk robes. They all looked a bit apprehensive – but I mostly noticed that they were all very good-looking, especially the girls. I shot a look at the twins and Lee – they were staring, as did most of the boys around us.

"Durmstrang here yet ?" I whispered to Angelina, who giggled.

"I wonder how _they_ will arrive."

"Certainly not as gracefully" said Fred.

I rolled my eyes as we all started waiting again. It was starting to get cold, when suddenly I heard Lee yell not too far from us.

"The lake ! Look at the lake !"

We all turned to see what he was poiting. The surface of the lake seemed to be boiling, and suddenly, a huge ship emerged from the water, looking magnificent in the moonlight. I stared in awe – both arrivals had been impressive, but this was probably my favorite. It didn't take long for the ship to arrive at shore, and soon, we could see the students disembarking and making their way to the castles. As they came closer, I stretched out my neck to see them better.

"Blimey" I muttered under my breath.

They were all boys, of course – and all wrapped up in big, warm cloaks, staring at the crowd with piercing eyes. I turned to Alicia and Angelina, exchanging excited grins. Let's just say they did lived up to their reputation.

"Look at all these pumpkin heads" sighed Fred.

"You're the pumpkin head" said Angelina, shooting him a look.

I smirked.

"Well, I'm convinced of thing – there's going to be loads of broken hearts at Hogwarts this year" I said.

"Scared you are going to get thrown off your podium ?" said George, referring to our conversation a few weeks back.

"Absolutely not" I replied, laughing.

We turned back to the Durmstrang students who were making their way inside – and suddenly I saw a very familiar face. I gasped, grabbing the twins' sleeves.

"Is that – is that –" muttered George.

" _KRUM_?" said Fred.

"No bloody way that's him" I said.

But it was him – I could hear people whispering excitedly around us. I couldn't believe. Viktor Krum, at Hogwarts !

"'Mazing" said Lee as we made our way back to the castle.

"I knew he was young, but I didn't know he's still in school !" exclaimed Angelina.

We all sat down in the Great Hall – the Beauxbatons students sat at Ravenclaw's table and the Durmstrang students at Slytherin's. I could see Montague sitting next to Krum.

"Oh, bugger ! – why Slytherin ?" I moaned.

"Because life is unfair" replied Fred dramatically, staring at the girls from Beauxbatons.

I shot a look at Angelina – who was also staring at the girls, but while Fred was admiring them, she seemed quite annoyed with them. I chuckled to myself, even though I didn't particularly like how George was staring at them either.

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, ghosts and – most particularly – guests" said Dumbledore, bringing the attention to him. "I have great pleasure in welcoming you all to Hogwarts. I hope and trust that your stay here will be both comfortable and enjoyable."

A girl from Beauxbatons laughed mockingly at Dumbledore, and I glared at her.

"The tournament will be officially opened at the end of the feast. I now invite you all to eat, drink, and make yourselves at home !"

The plates filled up with food, but I quickly noticed that it wasn't the usual food we were served – there were a lot of unknown dishes, which instantly lifted up my spirits. I loved trying out new food.

"Ooh ! What do you reckon that is ?" I pointed at a strange looking thing that looked like meat.

"I absolutely have no idea" answered George. "Let's try it."

He put some of it on both our plates, and we tasted it at the same time – it was quite good. We started doing that for each dish we didn't know. Most of it was good, but there were some nasty ones. When we were finishing up, I noticed someone knew sitting at the teacher's table. I gave Fred and George a nudge.

"Look who's here" I said.

"Hello, Mr. Bagman" said Fred with a smirk.

I laughed. I was really hoping that Fred and George's plan would work out, and that they would get their money back. It really wasn't fair, after all.

A few minutes later, the plates were cleaned up and Dumbledore stood again. The twins went completely silent, listening attentively to the director.

"The moment has come" started Dumbledore. The Triwizard Tournament is about to start. I would like to say a few words of explanation before we bring in the casket – just to clarify the procedure that we will be following this year. But first, let me introduce, for those who do not know them, Mr. Bartemius Crouch, Head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation, and Mr. Ludo Bagman, Head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports."

Students started applauding him cheerfully – I raised an eyebrow as Bagman waved at the crowd.

"Mr. Bagman and Mr. Crouch have worked tirelessly over the last few months on the arrangements for the Triwizard Tournament and they will be joining myself, Professor Karkaroff, and Madame Maxime on the panel that will judge the champions' efforts."

"Great" sighed George.

"No, it's good – that means he'll be around a lot" I smiled.

"Can't avoid us now, can you, Bagman ?" said Fred.

We quickly turned back to Dumbledore, as Filch was carrying a big wooden chest to the front.

"The instructions for the tasks the champions will face this year have already been examined by Mr. Crouch and Mr. Bagman, and they have made the necessary arrangements for each challenge. There will be three tasks, space throughout the school year, and they will test the champions in many different ways… their magical prowess – their daring – their powers of deduction – and, of course, their ability to cope with danger."

I had never heard the Hall so quiet – but everyone was waiting to see what Dumbledore had to say. I took a quick look at the twins – they looked very focused.

"As you know, three champions compete in the tournament. One from each of the participating schools. They will be marked on how well they perform each of the Tournament tasks and the champion with the highest total after task three will win the Triwizard Cup. The champions will be chosen by an impartial selector : the Goblet of Fire."

I frowned – what could that be ? Dumbledore raised his wand at the wooden chest, and the lid opened. I stretched my neck as Dumbledore reached inside and pulled out a big cup filled with blue flames. I stared in awe as the director placed it where everyone could see it.

"Anybody wishing to submit themselves as champion must write their name and school clearly upon a slip of parchment and drop it into the goblet. Aspiring champions have twenty-four hours in which to put their names forward. Tomorrow night, Halloween, the goblet will return the names of the three it has judged most worthy to represent their schools. The goblet will be placed in the entrance hall tonight, where it will be freely accessible to all those wishing to compete. To ensure that no underage student yields to temptation –"

I felt the twins tense beside me.

"I will be drawing an Age Line around the Goblet of Fire once it has been placed in the entrance hall. Nobody under the age of seventeen will be able to cross this line."

I turned to the twins – they were grinning from ear to ear. I already knew what they had in mind.

"An Age Line !" said Fred as we walked out of the Great Hall. "Well, that should be fooled by an Aging Potion, shouldn't it ? And once your name's in that goblet, you're laughing – it can't tell whether you're seventeen or not !"

"But I don't think anyone under seventeen will stand a chance" replied Hermione. "We just haven't learned enough…"

"Speak for yourself" said George. "You'll try and get in, won't you, Harry ?"

I turned to Harry, curious to hear his answer, but Ron interrupted, looking everywhere around him – probably in search of Krum.

"Where is he ? Dumbledore didn't say where the Durmstrang people are sleeping, did he ?"

I snickered, exchanging amused looks with the twins.

"Can you imagine Krum and his friends coming to sleep in the Gryffindor Tower ?" I told Angelina.

"I certainly wouldn't be complaining" she said.

We started laughing at the idea when Harry, Ron and Hermione – who were walking in front of us, suddenly stopped. I frowned, and saw that Harry had stopped to let Karkaroff, Durmstrang's director, and his students go through the doors first.

"Thank you" he said with his low voice.

Then he turned to Harry, and froze – like all the students behind him. I bit my lip to keep from laughing. Poor Harry.

"Yeah, that's Harry Potter" said a familiar voice from behind us.

I turned to see Moody – his eye was fixed on Karkaroff.

"You !" said the latter.

"Me" said Moody. "And unless you've got anything to say to Potter, Karkaroff, you might want to move. You're blocking the doorway."

I noticed how pale Karkaroff had suddenly become – it seemed like Moody and him knew each other. I wondered how – it didn't look like they really liked each other, though. But Karkaroff still gestured to his students to start walking, and when I turned back to look at them leave the castle, I caught the eye of one of them – who was staring at me, a small smile on his lips. I tensed, and tried not to blush.

"Blimey Addy, did you see that ? He was just _staring_ at you the whole time" chuckled Angelina as we made our way to the Gryffindor Tower.

"No, he wasn't" I said, blushing.

"Oh no, he was" nodded Fred. "Probably wondering if you're of troll descent."

"Oh, bugger off" I told him, pushing him on the arm, a small smile on my lips.


	11. vol I : chapter eleven

_Hello ! This is a very long one. I think you guys will like the ending.  
_ _Thank you for the follows. Enjoy x_

* * *

 **wildest dreams  
** VOLUME I **  
**

* * *

 **CHAPTER ELEVEN**

* * *

I shook my head as I watched Fred, George and Lee stare at the cauldron excitedly.

"You know it's not gonna work, right ?" I said.

"Have a little faith, Addy" said Lee.

"Why wouldn't it work ?" said Fred. "It's just an Age Line. Easily fooled."

"And we only need a couple more months – it's not even going to notice."

I shrugged – I didn't want to stop them, after all. I was too curious to see what would happen. I had a feeling it would be very entertaining.

"All right. I'll go first" said Lee, a huge grin on his face.

He dipped the spoon he was holding into the Potion, and took a sip.

"What does it taste like ?" asked George, frowning.

"Like... black pudding."

"Huh – all right" said Fred, shrugging. "Cheers."

I watched as he and George took a sip of the Potion each.

"You sure you don't want some, Addy ? There's plenty left" said Fred.

"Nope – I'm fine."

"You absolutely sure ?"

"Yes, Fred, I'm sure."

"Your loss" he shrugged.

"All right, let's do it !" said Lee.

They hurried off out of the broom cupboard which the twins used for their products at Hogwarts – protected by a spell, of course – and I followed them down to the entrance hall, smiling at their excitement. I spotted Harry, Ron and Hermione and we made our way to them. The Goblet of Fire was sitting in the middle of the entrance hall, the flames inside it still burning bright. There were a lot of people around, watching to see who would enter the tournament.

"Done it" I heard Fred say to Harry, Ron and Hermione. "Just taken it."

"What ?" asked Ron.

"The Aging Potion, dung brains."

"One drop each" said George. "We only need to be a few months older."

"We're going to split the thousand Galleons between the three of us if one of us wins" added Lee.

"I'm not sure this is going to work, you know" said Hermione. "I'm sure Dumbledore will have thought of this."

"That's what I keep telling them" I told her.

The twins and Lee carefully ignored us, and I rolled my eyes.

"Ready ?" said Fred. "C'mon, then – I'll got first –"

He pulled out a piece of parchment from his pocket, and walked right to the edge of the line. We all watched as he stood there for a few seconds before stepping over it – and then, nothing. I actually thought for a moment that it had worked, and smiled as George jumped to join his brother. But a second later, I heard a loud noise, and suddenly, the twins were thrown back from the Age Line and landed on the stone floor at least ten feet away. I gasped in shock, hurried to help them to their feet. But as soon as I got close to them, I saw that they had also grown two long white beards – and bursted out laughing.

Everyone was laughing – even the twins, who looked quite fascinated at each other's beards. I felt my eyes tear up from the laughter. This exceeded all my expectations.

"I did warn you" said a familiar voice.

I turned to see Dumbledore, who seemed quite amused by the situation.

"I suggest you both go up to Madam Pomfrey. She is already tending to Miss Fawcett, of Ravenclaw, and Mr. Summers, of Hufflepuff, both of whom decided to age themselves up a little too. Thought I must say, neither of their beards is anything like as fine as yours."

Fred and George started making their way to the hospital wing, and I followed with Lee, still roaring with laughter.

"That's the best thing that ever happened" said Lee.

"You know – Dumbledore's right. You both look very handsome with those beards – maybe you should keep them" I chuckled.

"Very funny, _Adelaide_ " replied Fred.

I groaned – he knew it annoyed me when he called me 'Adelaide'. But seeing them with those huge, white beards made me start laughing again, and I couldn't stop until we got the hospital wing, where Madam Pomfrey grabbed both the twins by the arms and made them sit down on a bed, looking quite annoyed. Lee decided to stay with Fred and George – but I had a lot of work to do, and I had promised Angelina too meet her, so I started making my way down to the library, determined to finish my essay for Ancient Runes that was due the next Tuesday.

Once I got to the third floor, I turned a corner, and saw three Durmstrang students walking in the opposite direction. I was very confused, for a second – they had only arrived the night before, after all, and I still hadn't seen any of them walking around the castle so far. I kept on walking, hoping they wouldn't notice the smile on my face.

"Excuse me, miss ?" said a voice with a thick accent.

I froze and lifted up my head to meet the stares of the three Durmstrangs – the one that had spoken was smiling gently, and I immediately recognized him to be the one who had stared at me from the crowd the night before. What a coincidence !

"Yes ?" I said, smiling back.

"Would you mind telling us the way back to the entrance hall ? I'm afraid we got lost."

His English was very impressive – even though he had an accent, he spoke confidently. I chuckled.

"I can't blame you, this castle is huge – I've always thought they should give out maps for when you first get here."

He let out a deep, low chuckle – his friends didn't even smile. Perhaps they couldn't understand English – or perhaps they were just rude. I ignored them.

"Er – you just need to keep going that way, and go all the way down the stairs, and then just take the next left and you'll be there" I explained.

He nodded – still smiling.

"Thank you very much, miss – er –"

"Addy" I replied.

"Addy" he repeated. "English names are so original."

I raised an eyebrow, chuckling awkwardly.

"Er – yeah, I guess they are."

"Well, it was very nice to meet you, Addy."

He then did a thing I did not expect – he took my hand and kissed it gently. I was so shocked that I couldn't utter a single word – and he walked away, still smiling. It took me a few seconds to recover, and then I started laughing. It had certainly been charming, but I couldn't help but find it a bit funny. I nearly ran to the library, eager to tell Angelina what had just happened. Luckily, she was already there with Alicia and Melinda.

I sat down, throwing my bag on the table – I saw Madam Pince look up from her desk at the noise – and smiled mysteriously.

"What are you all smiling about ?" whispered Melinda, frowning.

I told them what had just happened.

"I don't believe it !" said Alicia, smiling.

"You are so lucky" sighed Melinda.

"Lucky ? C'mon, I'm sure he pulls that card with every girl he sees" I said.

"It doesn't matter if he does – what matters is that he pulled it for _you_ " said Melinda.

"Oh, Mel" I laughed, shaking my head.

"Did he tell you his name ?" asked Angelina.

I hesitated.

"No ! He didn't even tell me his name !" I realized.

"Well, did you ask him ?" said Alicia.

"Er – I – er – I don't think I did" I muttered.

"Addy !" the girls all cried out.

Madam Pince, behind us, let out a sharp 'shh !' and I bit my lip, trying not to laugh.

"I can't believe you" muttered Melinda.

"Mel, it's just a _boy._ "

"How can you not care about this ?" asked Alicia.

"Because she's got someone else on her mind" said Angelina.

We all turned to look at her – she had a little smirk on her lips. I narrowed my eyes at her.

"What do you mean ?" I asked.

"It's obvious, isn't it ?" she said, still smiling. "If Addy is so indifferent, it's simply because she fancies someone else."

"And who would that be, exactly ?"

"Charlie ?" suggested Alicia.

I glared at her. I liked Charlie – a lot. But I had never seen him that way. He was like a big brother to me.

"No, I'm pretty sure it's one of the twins" said Melinda.

"What !" I exclaimed. "Certainly not."

But I had been to eager in my answer – I saw the girls smile.

"There you go !" chuckled Melinda.

"Well, it's clearly George" said Alicia. "Fred fancies Angelina and George is clearly nuts about you – did you see his face when you and Oliver announced you were dating ?"

I shook my head, trying my best to ignore what she was saying, and keep from blushing.

"Stop. You're talking rubbish. Well, except for the part about Fred and Angelina."

"What ?" muttered the latter, looking a little pale.

"Are you honestly _that_ blind, Angie ?" I chuckled. "Well, you know what ? You two are great together – he keeps trying to deny it too."

"You talked to him about it ?" she muttered.

"Of course I did."

"And – er… What did he say ?"

She was trying to sound detached, but we all saw right through her, and bursted out laughing – as discretely as we could. Angelina was blushing – and I was very happy not to the subject of conversation anymore.

"You should talk to him" said Alicia.

"I do that everyday" she sighed.

"Not just talk – tell him how you feel !" said Melinda.

"I don't know."

"Angelina. If you have the guts to voluntarily enter a Tournament during which you might die – I'm pretty sure you can tell _Fred Weasley_ how you feel about him" I said.

She smiled softly. We spent the rest of the day talking, and took a walk in the park – it was a beautiful day. Fred and George joined us just before dinner – the both of them freshly shaved. They didn't seem very disappointed in their failure, but rather amused by what had happened. As they told us about how Madam Pomfrey had taken care of them, I kept thinking back about what Alicia had said – _George is clearly nuts about you – did you see his face when you and Oliver announced you were dating ?_ – could she be right ? I wasn't even sure I wanted to know. All I knew is that I felt like blushing everytime I met George's eyes.

Fortunately, the evening would be a good distraction – the champions would be announced right after dinner. The Great Hall was already crowded when we came in – and decorated for Halloween, as usual. We sat down and I took a look at the Goblet of Fire, which was now sitting in front of the teacher's table.

"Who do you think will be Durmstrang's champion ?" asked Alicia.

"Reckon it will be Krum" I answered.

"Of course it's gonna be Krum. If it isn't him, I declare that goblet officially mad" said George.

"Hope it's Angelina" added Fred.

"So do I !" said Hermione, who had just sat down with Harry and Ron. "Well, we'll soon know !"

Everyone seemed to eat faster than usual – we were all eager to hear the announcement. Soon, the plates were all cleared, and Dumbledore stood up.

"Well, the goblet is almost ready to make its decision. I estimate that it requires one more minute. Now, when the champions' names are called, I would ask them please to come up to the top of the Hall, walk along the staff table, and go through into the next chamber – where they will be receiving their first instructions."

Angelina looked anxious – I grabbed her hand, smiling encouragingly. Dumbledore then extinguished all the candles, except the ones in the pumpkins, and it gave the Great Hall an eerie atmosphere. I stared at the goblet nervously, as did everyone.

"Any second" whispered Lee in front of me.

The flames in the goblet suddenly turned from blue to red – and a piece of parchment flew from inside into Dumbledore's hand.

"The champion for Durmstrang – will be Viktor Krum."

"No surprises there !" said Ron as the Great Hall broke into applause.

I cheered as as I watched the Seeker stand up from his seat and walk towards the director – the Tournament was already sure to be exciting. When everyone calmed down, the flames turned red again – and another piece of parchment flew to the director.

"The champion for Beauxbatons" read Dumbledore. "is Fleur Delacour !"

I raised an eyebrow – I had no idea who that was. A beautiful blonde girl stood up from the Ravenclaw table and disappeared into the next chamber, looking delighted. I snickered when I saw that a few other girls from Beauxbatons had bursted into tears.

When the Great Hall fell silent again, I could barely contain my excitement. Angelina squeezed my hand so hard I was certain it would turn numb – but I didn't care.

"The Hogwarts champion…"

I held my breath.

"Is Cedric Diggory !"

"WHAT ?!" I exclaimed with Fred and George.

I groaned as the Hufflepuffs beside us jumped to their feet, cheering Cedric, who was grinning radiantly. I was happy for him, in a way – but I was more disappointed for Angelina, who now stared blankly at her empty plate.

"I'm sorry, Angie – you would have been way better" I said, squeezing her hand.

"Much better" nodded Alicia.

The twins looked too angry to say anything, and just stared darkly at the Hufflepuff table.

"Excellent !" said Dumbledore. "Well, we now have our three champions. I am sure I can count upon all of you, including the remaining students from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang, to give your champions every ounce of support you can muster."

I heard Fred snicker.

"By cheering your champion on, you will contribute in a very real –"

Dumbledore suddenly stopped talking – and I immediately knew why. The flames in the goblet had turned red again – and a fourth piece of parchment flew into the air. The director grabbed it silently, and read it. The Great Hall was silent.

"Harry Potter."

I frowned – how was that possible ? I turned to Harry, who looked even more shocked than everybody else.

"I didn't put my name in. You know I didn't" he said to Ron and Hermione.

But his friends only stared blankly back at him.

"Harry Potter !" called Dumbledore. "Harry ! Up here, if you please !"

Harry only stood after Hermione gave him a push. He clumsily made his way to the director. Nobody spoke – we were all too surprised, and too curious to see what would happen next. Dumbledore gestured to Harry to go on through the next room, and even after the latter had disappeared behind the door, the Great Hall remained silent.

"How did he do it ?"

Fred was the first to break the silence after Dumbledore and the teachers hurried out of the room. Everyone had started making their way back to their dormitories – the Hufflepuffs were cheering Cedric's name, obviously not bothered at all by the whole thing with Harry.

"I have no idea" muttered Lee. "I kind of wish he had told us, but I'm too happy about the fact that there will be a Gryffindor in the Tournament to really care."

"Me too. And it's Harry _,_ too, he'll be brilliant" said George.

"I reckon he'll give Diggory a good run of his money" added Fred with a smile.

We started to make our way back, following the crowd out of the Great Hall. I walked next to Angelina.

"How are you feeling ?" I asked her.

"Better. I'm happy Harry was chosen, however he did it" she said.

I was glad she was feeling better – and I was about to ask her how she thought Harry had done it, exactly, as I couldn't figure it out on my own – when I felt someone gently tap on my right shoulder.

"Hi" I heard.

I turned to see that Durmstrang guy – again !

"Oh, hi !" I replied, surprised.

"This boy – Potter – isn't he too young for the Tournament ?"

I really didn't like how he called Harry a _boy,_ but I understood that he was curious.

"Yeah, he's only fourteen" I answered.

"That is scandalous !"

"Maybe, I don't know. But he's my friend – and he's a Gryffindor, too, so I'll support him. I'm sure he'll be a great champion."

He slowly nodded – obviously, he didn't agree with me. We were now in the entrance hall, and I had lost sight of Angelina and the others.

"Viktor will be a great champion as well."

He stopped in the middle of the hall, forcing me to do the same thing. It was my turn to nod – was he really that desperate for conversation ? I felt awkward.

"No doubt about that. He's a very good Seeker."

"You enjoy Quidditch ?"

"Oh, I love it."

"Were you at the World Cup ?"

"Yeah, I was."

"Me too !"

"It was a good match."

I was genuinely interested in the conversation now – after all, Quidditch was my favorite thing to talk about.

"Indeed. A was a little disappointed by the outcome, however" he said.

"Can't say the same – I've been a supporter of the Irish for years" I chuckled.

"They're not my favorite, but I can't deny they have a good team."

"That's very true."

I smiled. He was surprisingly nice and easy to talk to – but I realized I still didn't know his name. I remembered what the girls had said before. _If Addy is so indifferent, it's simply because she fancies someone else._ Maybe I could prove them wrong.

"Well, I have to go, we're probably gonna celebrate, so…"

"Yes, of course" he nodded.

"I guess I'll see round, er –"

"Right. I'm Nikolai, but you can call me Nik."

"All right. Good night, Nik."

"Good night, Addy."

With one last smile, I turned around and made my way up the stairs. I could feel my heart beat fast. I wasn't use to flirting, or to anything of the sort – the only relationship I had ever been in had been the one with Oliver – and it had been so easy. Like it was with… I quickly chased away the thought.

When I finally reached the seventh floor, I quickly muttered 'Balderdash' at the Fat Lady and entered the Common Room. When I got in, everyone was busy preparing the party for Harry. There was already music playing already.

"Hey, where have you been ?" asked George.

"Oh, er – nowhere" I muttered, blushing.

"Why are you blushing ?" said Fred, eyes narrowed.

I tried to make up an excuse, but Angelina had heard everything and appeared next to Fred, smiling brightly.

"What did he tell you ?" she asked.

"Who ?" asked the twins in unison.

"No one told me anything" I said, glaring at Angelina.

"C'mon, I saw him talk to you !"

"Who ?" asked the twins again.

"A guy from Durmstrang. He fancies Addy."

"He bloody doesn't !"

"Did you ask his name ?" said Angelina, ignoring me.

The twins were frowning, obviously interested. But I couldn't help but notice a difference between the two – Fred seemed curious, but George was annoyed.

"Yeah. His name is Nik" I said quietly.

"Oh, look, the Butterbeers are finally here" suddenly said George.

He walked away to Lee and Alicia, who had just entered with a few trays full of Butterbeers. Fred soon followed, and I exchanged a look with Angelina. She was shaking her head.

"Boys" she simply said.

I started laughing when the portrait opened to Harry. Everyone let out a cheer, and he was pulled inside, looking a little surprised – and tired, I noticed. The music suddenly got loud as everyone whistled and applauded Harry.

"You should've told us you'd entered !" yelled Fred.

"How did you do it without getting a beard ? Brilliant !" said George.

"I didn't. I don't know how –"

"Oh if it couldn't be me, at least it's a Gryfindor –" said Angelina.

"You'll be able to pay back Diggory for that last Quidditch match, Harry !" laughed Katie.

"We've got food, Harry, come and have some –"

"I'm not hungry, I had enough at the feast –"

But nobody heard him, and he was pulled to the table some of us had set up. Everyone kept asking him how he'd done it – but he always answered that he hadn't. I didn't know if he was telling the truth, or if he just didn't want to tell anyone, but either way, I was just happy that he had gotten in.

I hadn't see the Common Room in such a fuss since the last Quidditch match we had won last year – everyone was dancing, eating, screaming, drinking, singing. Lee had even made a cape out of Gryffindor banner for Harry to wear. I maybe had one too many Butterbeers – and soon started creating a song for Harry with Angelina, Alicia and Katie. I decided to stop drinking when I fell from my chair after Fred make a joke about Diggory.

A few hours later, long after Harry himself went to bed, I collapsed on one of the couches, still feeling a little fuzzy. I let out a long sigh, pulling my hair from my face.

"Hey."

I looked to my right – George was sitting right next to me, sipping his Butterbeer. His cheeks were slightly red, and his hair even messier than usual on his head. I couldn't help but stare.

"Hey yourself" I said, smiling.

"How are you feeling ?"

"Like I'm gonna regret that last Butterbeer tomorrow morning."

We shared a laugh, and I suddenly felt the need to have him closer to me. So I leaned against his shoulder, and he wrapped his arm around me. I don't know how long we stayed like this. We just stared into the fire, and he played with my hair. We started laughing as we recalled what we now called the 'beard incident', and we played thumb war. All felt good in the world

And suddenly, all I could think about was George's eyes, sparkling in the light of the fire, and George's cheeks, reddened by the drinking, and George's lips, that night we went to Honeydukes. I tried to close my eyes to chase it all away – but it was useless. I had to admit it to myself – I liked him. More than liked him. But it was all so weird, and so new – I didn't know how to handle it. George had always been my best friend – would _he_ even want to be more than that ? I needed to cherish that friendship more than anything else, that I was sure of. It was too important to me – I couldn't afford to lose it.

So I pushed away the image of his lips against mine, reluctantly slid from the comfort of his arms, wished him goodnight, and went to bed.


	12. vol I : chapter twelve

_Good evening!  
_ _This is a very happy chapter, as you will see. It's Addy's birthday!_ _I hope you like it.  
Also, I have finished revising volume 1 now, it is now all ready for publishing and it has a total of 30 chapters, so we still have a lot in front of us.  
Thank you for the follows, favorites, and the reviews. zaneri0t, guest & foreverteamedward13, you're the best. Please write more!  
_ _Enjoy ! x_

* * *

 **wildest dreams  
** VOLUME I

* * *

 **CHAPTER TWELVE**

* * *

Life at Hogwarts got a little strange in the weeks following the announcement of the champions. Everyone seemed to be entranced by the new champions – Diggory suddenly became as famous as Krum, and the rivalry between houses was worse than it had ever been. People even started wearing badges that stated 'Potter Stinks' – me and the twins made sure to give those a few of their latest products, like the Canary Creams – or replace their wands with fake ones, which transformed into various useless Muggle objects as soon as you tried to use them. I felt bad for Harry – even Ron didn't talk to him anymore, spending most of his time with Seamus Finnigan instead. I had tried to convince the twins to talk to him, but they didn't want anything to do with their brother's business and 'idiotic behaviour', as they put it.

The First Task wouldn't take place until the end of November, and while everyone was anxious to know what it would be, we were all too focused on trying to make sense of this new lifestyle at Hogwarts. Beauxbatons and Durmstrang students came more and more often to the castle – and I had seen Nik a few times, and he always made sure to start a conversation. But I always made sure to avoid him when the twins were around – well, mostly when George was around. I had a feeling the both of them wouldn't get along.

I woke up on November 13h to an empty dormitory. I frowned. This was far from normal – it was Sunday morning, after all, and at whatever time I woke up, there was always at least Alicia that was still asleep. I shrugged – maybe she had a date, or woke up early to do homework, for once. I got dressed, brushed my hair and headed downstairs, eager to get a very big breakfast. There was no sound as I got down the stairs to the Common Room, which was also very odd. I was truly starting to wonder if I had forgotten some important event when –

I let out a scream of surprise as the twins, Angelina, Alicia and Lee jumped from the sides of the staircase, grinning broadly and screaming.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY !"

I stared at them in shock as they all threw confetti in my direction.

"Bloody hell !" I exclaimed, eyes wide.

"Surprise !" said Angelina, smiling.

"Look at her face" said Fred, who was laughing hysterically with George and Lee.

My heart, who had nearly bursted out of my chest, starting beating at a normal pace again. I let out my breath, shaking my head at my friends.

"Bloody hell" I repeated. "Well, I gotta say, I wasn't expecting this."

"Yeah, we could pretty much tell from the look on your face" said Alicia.

"I knew there was something odd about you waking up before me on a Sunday !" I laughed.

I was smiling brightly now – I hadn't even realized until now that today was my birthday.

"We also got you this from the kitchens, Addy" said Angelina.

She pointed to the table. The books, parchment and quills that usually covered it had been tossed away – and replaced by a nice tablecloth, plates, cutlery and enough pancakes to fill the bellies of an entire army. I couldn't help it – I shrieked out of excitement, and ran to the table.

" _Bloody hell –_ "

"You've been saying that a lot" said Fred, who had finally calmed down.

"If Mom could hear you…" added George.

"Don't mind them, Addy. Let it all out" said Lee.

"I'm sorry, but this is just _brilliant_! Thank you so much !"

I jumped into their arms, hugging them tightly. They truly knew me best – an ridiculous amount of pancakes and my friends with me – that's all I really needed in life. We all sat down around the table as Alicia started telling me the story of them planning the whole thing – how they went to the kitchens early to get the food, and how they had convinced the Fat Lady not to let anyone through the portrait until we would be done.

After my – well, I'd rather not say – pancake, I put down my fork, and breathed out.

"I don't think I can eat for at least another century" I sighed.

"She'll be hungry in two hours" said George.

Everyone nodded and laughed. I rolled my eyes.

"Well, what's next ?" I asked excitedly.

"What do you feel like doing ?" said Angelina.

"Er – I dunno…"

"The day is yours, associate" said Fred.

"Indeed" nodded George. "Whatever you feel like doing – prank some Slytherins, Quidditch…"

"… go to Hogsmeade, ruin Filch's day…"

"Your wish is our command" they finished together.

I didn't have to think about it for very long.

"Well, I'd love some Quidditch, but I don't think it's possible."

"Why not ?" shrugged Lee.

"There is no House Cup, right ? Isn't the pitch closed"

"We can still try and ask McGonagall" suggested Alicia.

"I'm sure she'd say yes, it's your birthday !" nodded Angelina.

I bit my lip.

"You think so ?"

"Well, there is only one way to find out" said George, standing up.

"Let's go and see our mate Minerva."

We all stood up to leave, and after quickly cleaning up the table – those House Elves had done enough already – we set for McGonagall's office. I knocked on her door, fingers crossed.

"Come in" we heard her say.

Lee opened the door – McGonagall seemed quite surprised to see all of us enter in her office. Even if it was Sunday, she was still wearing her usual emerald robes – but no hat, I noticed.

"Good morning, Professor" started Angelina.

We had decided it was probably best if she did all the talking – she was the best at it, after all.

"Good morning… all of you" said McGonagall, lips pecked. "How may I help you ?"

We all exchanged glances. Angelina smiled kindly.

"Well, we have a little request."

"Go ahead" she said, looking a little suspicious – I couldn't blame her, with the twins, Lee _and_ me there.

"You see, Professor, it's Addy's birthday today, and…"

"Oh, happy birthday, miss Harlowe."

I raised my eyebrows, a little surprised, but smiled.

"Thank you, Professor !"

"And you are turning seventeen today, am I right ? Which means you will be able to use magic outside of Hogwarts – I'm hoping you will use that new privilege wisely."

She was looking at me from behind her glasses, in the way only McGonagall could – I slightly blushed.

"I'll try my best" I nodded.

"I have no doubt you will. Well, is that the only reason _all_ of you are in my office ?"

"No, Professor" quickly said Angelina, chuckling. "You see, we were wondering if we could go and play Quidditch this afternoon."

"You are aware that everyone is locked down for this year, Miss Johnson, because of the Tournament."

"Yes, but we thought – it would be good practice for next year, you know."

"Angelina's right, Professor" suddenly said Fred.

We all turned sharply to him. Angelina's glare seemed to say 'do not mess this up or I will cut you'. I almost laughed out loud.

"We lack practice so much. And, I mean, we don't want anything like last year's match with Hufflepuff to happen again, do we ?"

McGonagall's neck seemed to go red at the thought. I always suspected her to be as much of a Quidditch fan as I was – she was just better at hiding it. I couldn't even contain myself.

"Fair point, Mr. Weasley."

She seemed to think for a moment.

"Very well. I will let you use the Quidditch pitch this afternoon – but I expect all the equipment to be back at its place, in order, by sundown. Is that clear ?"

It was really hard for me not to jump out of excitement at that moment. I glanced at the others – they were all smiling, clearly holding back their excitement too.

"Crystal clear, Professor. Thank you" said Angelina.

McGonagall only nodded, and we took that as our signal to leave. I turned around, following the others outside. Once we had closed the door, we all jumped and shouted in enthusiasm.

"TO THE PITCH !" shouted Lee, leading the way.

It truly was a beautiful day – the sun was shining, and the wind, even though cold, wasn't too strong. I left the others to change in the locker room as I took out the necessary gear. I was looking for the bats for Fred and George when my eyes landed on the microphone that was used for the commentary during the official matches. I smirked. Being the enthusiastic fan that I was, when the twins had joined the team in second year, McGonagall had asked me if I was willing to do the commentary. I had accepted, of course, but after only one match, she had decided that my language was a bit too colorful for the job. Quidditch did have a weird effect on me sometimes.

I decided to take the microphone out too, just for the laugh, and ran upstairs in the stands where I waited for the others. They came out a few minutes later, and immediately started playing, under my commentary. They had split into two teams – Fred and Angelina against George and Alicia with Lee as Keeper – whatever team scored the most goals won the match.

It was the most fun I had had since watching the World Cup – and it took my mind off things. I was so focused on what I was doing that I hadn't even noticed that a few students had gathered at the entrance of the pitch, watching them play, until Lee blocked one of Alicia's throw in quite a graceful manner and the students started clapping.

"Well, it seems like you have admirers, Mr. Jordan. Maybe I'll start a fanclub, hand out badges..."

I saw him giving me a thumbs up from the goals. The distraction was enough to give Angelina time to score.

"Ten points for Angelina Johnson ! Sorry, George, sorry, Alicia…"

I chuckled as they glared at me. Then, I saw George flying towards me, his hair ruffled on his head, his cheeks red from the cold wind.

"Am I in trouble, Mr. Weasley ?"

He nodded.

"Yes, I'm going to need you to come with me."

"What – now ? Where ?"

"Over there" he said, pointing the distance.

I raised an eyebrow.

"I'm not sure I know what you mean –"

And then I understood – and the first word that popped into my head was 'no'.

" _No._ George, no."

"Come on !" he insisted, grinning.

"George, you know what happens whenever I'm on a broom ! Very, very bad things happen !"

I was not at all referring, of course, to the time I had broke my leg in Flying Lesson in first year, or the time I had nearly broken my neck falling off my broom at the Burrow, trying to play Quidditch, a few summers ago. Thankfully, I had ended up in the pond instead, soaked from head to toe but alive.

"But you're not flying it, I am ! Come on, it will be fun."

"No."

"I'm not giving you a choice."

"It's my birthday, you can't force me to anything !"

"I don't care, come on !"

I stared at him, shaking my head. But his smile was so inviting, and it was my birthday, and I felt a little mad, so I rolled my eyes and put down the microphone.

"You better not drop me" I muttered as he flew closer, looking very pleased. "Or I swear, you won't have any more hands to fly a bloody broom with."

"Not planning on it. But maybe it would wise for you _not_ to threaten me beforehand…"

"Oh, bugger off."

But I was smiling – and so was he. He offered me his hand, and I shakily took it, clumsily sitting down on the broom behind him. I breathed out.

"You can trust me, Addy" I heard him say quietly.

I slid my arms around his waist, grabbing him tightly. I was very grateful that he could not see my face at that moment – because I was blushing so much I felt like my face was on fire.

"I know" I whispered back.

"You ready ?"

"No" I answered.

"Hold tight."

And like that, we took flight, and I screamed out of terror and joy, holding on tight.

George flew through the pitch, and headed for the Black Lake. We couldn't really talk because of the wind – but we also really didn't have to. Everything around us was so beautiful. I had never seen Hogwarts and its surroundings from the sky – and it was breathtaking. I only held onto George, and admired the view. The wind was blowing through my hair, and I could feel him breathing next to me, and even though I was slightly terrified of falling off, I found myself settling my head on his back and smiling.

I don't really know for how long we flew around the Hogwarts grounds, but soon the sun was setting on the horizon and it was time to go back. When we reached the Quidditch pitch again, everyone was sitting down on the grass, waiting for us. I noticed that Angelina and Fred were holding hands – but before I could say anything, Angelina shook it off to stand up and walk towards us.

"We better put everything back, now, or McGonagall will murder us all" she said, looking a little flushed.

I nodded slowly, looking over at George to see if he had noticed too. He was smirking, which made me think he had. He started following the others to the locker room but I put a hand on his arm.

"George, wait" I said.

He stopped and turned to me. I smiled softly.

"Thank you for that. It really was great."

"You're welcome, Harlowe. Told you I wouldn't drop you."

I shook my head, and he put his arm around my shoulders, and we walked to the locker room, laughing.


	13. vol I : chapter thirteen

_Good morning!  
_ _Thank you so much for all the feedback on the last chapter - you really made my day!  
I hope you like this one too. I quite like the ending - you'll see a familiar face.  
Please keep reviewing and stuff ! I love you guys!  
Enjoy x_

* * *

 **wildest dreams  
VOLUME I**

* * *

 **CHAPTER THIRTEEN**

* * *

I was delighted when Dumbledore announced that all students were allowed to visit Hogsmeade the Saturday before the First Task – I immediately made plans with the twins, writing up a list of things we needed to get from Zonko. The girls also wanted to go shopping a little – but I mostly planned on going to Zonko and then get a Butterbeer at the Three Broomsticks. I absolutely loved going to Hogsmeade, especially when it got cold. The little village was just charming around that time of year.

My Arithmancy class had just ended on Friday, and I was walking to the Great Hall, planning on getting something to eat and spend the night working on the Fever Fudge with Fred and George, when I heard someone call my name. I turned around, eyebrows raised, to see Nik walking towards me. I smiled awkwardly.

"Hi" he said.

"Hey, how are you ?" I replied.

"Good, thank you. There's something I wanted to ask you."

I stared at him, anticipatating what he would say.

"Sure" I said quietly.

"I heard that everyone is going to this village tomorrow, huh – I forget the name."

"Hogsmeade ?"

"Yes, that's right. Not easy to pronounce" he chuckled.

I smiled. I had a feeling of what he was going to ask me – and I had no idea what to say.

"I was wondering if you would like to go with me."

He was so confident – like he already knew I would say yes. But I simply froze. I wanted to say no, because I had already made plans with everyone – but at the same time, I couldn't help but think that it could do me good to spend time with someone else, and to get a certain redhead off my mind. To be a teenager. To just have fun.

"Er –"

"You could give me a tour. Show me your favorite places."

I hesitated. I didn't know what I wanted. But I realized that if Nik had invited me, it was certainly because he was genuinely interested in _me._ The thought made me smile.

"You know what ? Sure. I'd love to."

"Great" he said, grinning. "I'll meet you in the entrance hall tomorrow, then ?"

"Okay."

I carefully avoided the twins for the rest of the day – I didn't want to have to tell them I wouldn't go to Hogsmeade with them. I could already hear Fred's sarcastic comment and George's glare. No, I would wait until the last possible minute, and if I could avoid it – even better. I went to bed early, feeling anxious, apprehending the next day.

When I woke up, Angelina was already up and getting dressed.

"Morning" I told her, rubbing my eyes.

"Hey" she said. "Excited about today ?"

"Today ?"

"Well, you and the twins are supposed to go to Zonko, right ?"

"Oh."

She turned to me, frowning.

"What do you mean, 'oh' ?"

I groaned and put my head between my hands. I couldn't hide anything from Angelina.

"Addy ?"

"I'm not going" I muttered.

"What ? Why ?"

I looked back at her, suddenly feeling miserable.

"Because I'm going on a date."

The hairbrush she was holding fell from her hand to the floor, making a loud noise. Fortunately, only Alicia was still asleep in the dormitory – and she didn't even notice.

"What do you mean, you're going on a date ?!"

"I'm going on a date" I shrugged.

"With who ?!"

"…Nik ?"

Angelina ran to my bed, and sat beside me, smiling brightly.

"When did this happen ?"

"Er – yesterday ?"

"Why didn't you tell me ?!"

"I don't know, I wasn't – I don't know. I'm not even sure I'm gonna go."

"Oh no, you are _so_ going, Adelaide Harlowe."

I groaned at the name – but Angelina ignored me. She pulled me out of bed, and then insisted to help me find the 'perfect outfit'. She spent the next hour or so going through my closet, and we finally agreed on a pair of black jeans and nice, warm mustard sweater. When she said it was time for hair and makeup, I grabbed my coat and quickly ran away from the dormitory – I still wanted to look like me, after all.

I met Nik in the entrance hall, wrapping my scarf around my neck. He was dressed warmly, and kissed my hand when he saw me. I cleared my head – I needed to enjoy this day as much as I could – or at least try. We walked to Hogsmeade side by side, talking about the Tournament, the weather, and Quidditch. It was nice – he was very easy to talk to, I again noticed. He also had a good sense of humor, which was something I truly appreciated.

Once we got to Hogsmeade, I brought him to Honeydukes, Dominic Maestro's, Spintwitches and even showed him Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop, which was known to be 'the romantic spot' in Hogsmeade. I had gone there with Oliver once – it had been a very funny experience.

"The tea's good. But it's really tacky, you know ? Everything's pink and couples just make out in front of you while you're trying to drink your cuppa" I laughed.

"We should try it" said Nik with a smile.

"Oh – no, no, no. You would hate it."

"Why ?"

"You just would" I chuckled. "I know a better place if you want to get something to drink."

I quickly pulled him away from the teashop – the simple thought of going in there with him was enough to make me feel uncomfortable. I brought him to the Three Broomsticks, making sure to sit in a quiet corner, far from the crowd, after I ordered two Butterbeers.

"This beverage is excellent" he said after tasting the Butterbeer.

"It is – it's my favorite. But you got to be careful, you know ? One too many and suddenly you're dancing on a table in the kitchens."

"That ever happened to you ?" he asked playfully.

"No, of course not" I replied with a chuckle.

Half an hour later, we were talking about English traditions when I saw Ron, Fred, George and Lee enter the pub. Luckily, Nik's large stature protected me from being seen, but I was suddenly really hot and in need for fresh air.

"Hey, do you want to continue our tour ?" I asked.

"Of course" smiled Nik.

We stood up and put on our coats – I made sure to stay hidden behind him. Then, I took him by the hand and led him through the pub, hoping no one would seen us. I already felt better when we stepped outside – it was considerably colder than before we had went in, and the wind seemed to clear my head. I then brought Nik to the Shrieking Shack, one of my favorite spots in the village. We sat down on the cold grass – I loved looking at the old house from afar, and hear the sounds it made echo in the air.

"Addy ?" said Nik.

"Yeah ?"

"I just wanted to thank you for this beautiful day. It was very nice."

"I'm glad you enjoyed it" I said with a smile.

"I did. When I arrived here, I was only thinking about the Tournament – I already saw myself champion."

"Like most people" I chuckled.

"Yes. I didn't expect to meet anyone – anyone like you, that is."

I stared at him, unable to determine if I wanted to blush or laugh.

"I – I'm nothing special" I muttered.

"You are" said Nik, his eyes planted into mine. "You are funny, intelligent, and beautiful. What more can you ask for ?"

"Blimey" I whispered. "Believe me, Nik, I have a lot of flaws."

I was blushing now – but luckily, I could pretend it was the cold. Nik smiled softly at me.

"I don't care about your flaws" he said.

I barely I had time to register what he was doing before I felt his lips on mine – and I was so astonished that I didn't move. Clearly taking my lack of reaction as an encouragement, Nik deepened the kiss, and pulled me closer to him. For a moment I couldn't think of anything, and only kissed him back as some sort of automatic reaction – but the first thing that popped into my head was George's face – and how I wished it was his lips I was kissing instead of Nik's – and I knew. I couldn't do this. I simply couldn't.

I pulled away from Nik, pushing his arm off my waist. I was breathless – but I knew it wasn't from the kiss. I could feel Nik's stare on him, but my eyes were glued to the ground.

"What is it, beautiful ?"

"I'm sorry – I – I cant do this."

I quickly stood up, taking in a deep breath. I needed to get away from here.

"Sorry" I said again before I ran away.

It was such a cliché, I thought – how could I have thought that spending time with someone I didn't even like would make a difference ? It hadn't made the thought of George fade away, it had made him even more present in my head.

I stopped running after a while, walking silently back to the castle. What was I going to do now ? Telling George how I felt was out of the question. I didn't even understand how I felt myself, what a laugh it would be to try and tell _him_. But I certainly did not want to keep feeling this way – fretful and agitated, measuring every move, thinking about every word. That wasn't me – that wasn't me at all.

I sighed deeply, planning to lock myself up in my room with a stash of Chocolate Frogs for the rest of the weekend. I accelerated as I walked next to the Forbidden Forest, starting to feel a little cold. Suddenly, I heard voices coming from the forest – I narrowed my eyes and saw a few silhouettes walking through the trees. I hesitated – that forest did not have a good reputation, and the only time I had went in, it was because Fred and George had forced me to, during our first year, convincing me it wasn't dangerous or scary at all – but when we had seen a weird figure, growling and staring at us in the dark, we had ran away and never went back.

But it seemed to me like I knew one of the voices, and when I got closer to the trees, I immediately recognized the ginger ponytail.

"Charlie ? Oi, Charlie !"

I saw him turn around, frowning, and I ran to meet him, grinning from ear to ear.

"Addy !" he said.

I hugged him warmly – I couldn't be happier to see him.

"What are you doing here ?" I asked.

"Oh, it's –"

"Hey Weasley, you're gonna introduce us ?"

I hadn't even noticed the two other men next to Charlie – they were staring at us, eyebrows raised. One of them looked very kind, but the other was smiling suggestively.

"Forget it, Noryn. Walk away" said Charlie.

The two men chuckled and started walking away. Charlie sighed deeply.

"Sorry about that. Noryn can be a real git sometimes."

"Don't worry about it."

"It's just – they work with dragons so much they forget how to talk to real humans, you know ?"

"Charlie, it's okay" I chuckled. "Tell me what you're doing at Hogwarts !"

He grinned, scratching his neck.

"Er – you know, I'm not really supposed to say anything…"

"Oh, c'mon ! I promise I won't tell anyone !"

"Except Fred and George, right ?"

I rolled my eyes.

"Okay. I promise I won't tell anyone _other_ than Fred and George, all right ?" I laughed.

"Very well."

"So you'll tell me ?"

"I don't think I have to. Isn't it obvious ?"

I frowned, unsure of what he meant. But I thought about it – Charlie worked with dragons, and the First Task was in a few days. He was right – it was very obvious.

"Oh my Goodness !" I exclaimed. "Dragons – that's the First Task !"

"Yep" nodded Charlie with a smirk.

"Blimey, Harry's gonna faint !"

"He'll be fine" chuckled Charlie. "None of the dragons we brought are _really_ dangerous – well, except maybe that Hungarian Horntail… But yeah. It's not going to be easy."

"Does Harry know ?" I asked.

"Not yet. But Ron's coming to see them tonight, he'll probably tag along."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that – they had a fight or something. They haven't been talking to each other for bloody weeks !"

"Are you serious ?"

"Yeah ! Ron was upset about Harry entering the Tournament – he thinks he's done it behind his back."

"I heard about that. I don't think Harry would ever do something like this."

"I agree. But you know Ron – stubborn as a mule."

"Like his mother" chuckled Charlie. "Hey, I heard about Fred and George trying to outsmart Dumbledore – what happened exactly ?"

I laughed, and then started telling Charlie what had happened. It felt really good to talk to him – I already felt much better.

"What about you ?" he asked. "Anything new ?"

"Not really" I said. "Just a disastrous date."

I didn't know why I mentioned it – probably because I felt so much at ease with Charlie, and felt like I could tell him everything. He frowned, asking me about it.

"It's nothing important. It's just – this guy from Durmstrang who asked me out today. And it was going really well, but then – he kissed me and… It just didn't feel right, you know ?"

I stared down at the ground, all my previous thoughts suddenly coming back to me. I felt pathetic.

"Sorry – I really don't want to bother you with all that rubbish."

"You're not bothering me, Addy."

Charlie then pulled me into a hug – his long hair tickled my nose.

"Teenage boys are idiots, Addy. Have my word on that" he said.

I laughed, hugging him back.

"They always want to go too fast, and they never know the right thing to say. But it will get better. I promise."

"Thank you, Charlie."

He gently pushed me back, smiling mysteriously.

"Now, how about I show you the dragons ?"


	14. vol I : chapter fourteen

_Hello everyone!  
_ _I just want to thank you again for all the feedback - I really appreciate it. You guys are the best !  
I hope you like this long chapter - it's already time for the first task! Woohoo!  
Keep reviewing, and don't hesitate to ask me questions or give me your predictions.  
Enjoy x _

* * *

**wildest dreams  
** VOLUME I **  
**

* * *

 **CHAPTER FOURTEEN**

* * *

When I got back to the Common Room, I was feeling much better. Talking with Charlie and seeing the dragons had truly took my mind off things. I immediately searched for the twins, excited to tell them about what I had seen. They were sitting at the table next to the window – I quickly joined them, smiling broadly.

"Hello" I said enthusiastically.

"Hello, traitor" answered Fred, not lifting his eyes from the chess game they were playing.

"Oh, Fred..."

"How was your _date_ ?" asked George, doing the same.

I sighed loudly. Maybe it hadn't been such a good idea to trust Angelina to tell the twins I couldn't stay with them today – I had asked her to say I was just busy, but of course she would specify I was going on a date. I really didn't feel like explaining myself or even just talking about the date itself – so I carefully ignored George's question.

"Did you know Charlie's here ?"

That seemed to grab their attention – they both raised their heads, frowning.

"Charlie ?" they asked at the same time.

"Yep. I saw him when I got back, in the Forest."

"What were you doing in the Forest ?" asked George.

"That's not important. Did he not tell you he was coming ?"

"He might have mentioned it in a letter…" shrugged Fred.

"Why didn't you tell me !" I said.

"We thought it was a joke or something" replied George.

"Well, it's not. And the reason why he's here – bloody _brilliant._ "

"Are you going to tell us, or not ?" sighed Fred.

"I'm sure you can figure it out yourselves, if you use your brains for once."

They shared a thoughtful look. It only took a few seconds before they seemed to understand, and grinned.

"Dragons !" they said excitedly.

"I know ! How cool is that !"

"Did you see them ?" asked Fred.

"Yeah – they're terrifying. Seriously, I'm _really_ glad I didn't sign up for that Tournament."

I was about to tell them that Ron was supposed to go tonight, and they should tag along, when Angelina sat down beside me, looking very restless.

"Tell me _everything_ " she said, smiling.

"Everything about what ?" I asked, confused.

"Your date !"

"Oh – right" I said, feeling the blood drain out of my face. "Er – it was okay."

"It was _okay_ ?" said Angelina. "What do you mean, it was _okay_ ?"

"I mean it was okay" I shrugged.

I wasn't particularly fond of the idea of talking about it next to Fred and George – especially George. In fact, I didn't want to talk about it at all. I just wanted to forget about it. But I knew Angelina – she wouldn't let go until she got what she wanted. That's the reason why she was such a good Chaser, after all.

"C'mon, spill the beans, Addy !" she sighed.

I glanced at George – he was staring at the chess board again.

"I don't know what to tell you, Angie. We just walked around, and talked, and –"

"Held hands at the Three Broomsticks" said Fred.

I sharply turned to him, eyes widened. Bugger, he had seen us. Which meant George had seen us.

"Yeah, we saw you and that pumpkin head. He kept staring at your –"

"Piss off, Fred !"

He laughed, clearly amused by my embarrassment. I couldn't stand this anymore – if Angelina wanted to talk about this, it would be very far away from the twins. I grabbed her hand and made her follow me up the stairs to the dormitory, ignoring Fred who was still laughing.

"Addy, what is going on ?"

"Sorry, Angie" I said, sitting on my bed. "I just didn't want to talk about it in front of the twins."

She glared at me.

"Addy, Fred is an idiot, you know that. You just have to ignore him."

"It's not Fred I'm concerned about" I muttered.

I froze. I hadn't planned on saying that aloud. I hoped that Angelina hadn't heard me – but of course, she had. She stared at me, mouth opened. I could feel myself blushing, and I quickly grabbed my pillow and hid my face in it.

"I KNEW IT" yelled Angelina, jumping on my bed.

I groaned as she started laughing, tearing the pillow from my hands.

"Addy ! Why didn't you tell me !" she said.

"I'm not – I – I don't know what you're talking about."

"It all makes so much sense now !"

"Angie, I don't know what you think you just figured out, but I can assure you that you're wrong" I said, shaking my head.

"Okay, then. Can you look at me, straight in the eyes, without blushing, and tell me you don't fancy George Weasley?"

I lifted my eyes to meet hers, determined to do exactly that. But I couldn't find the words. I couldn't do it. Angelina stared back, a smile gradually appearing on her face. I sighed, feeling myself blushing again. As she started laughing, I threw myself back on the bed, hiding my face in my hands.

"I'm such an idiot" I groaned.

"You're not an idiot" said Angelina. "You're just… smitten."

"But I don't want to be _smitten_ ! Not with him !"

"What do you mean ?"

"Angie, George is my best friend – he always has been. I can't just – I don't want to lose that. He's too important to me."

"Addy…"

"I mean, what am I supposed to do ? Tell him how I feel ? He'd just laugh, or think I'm being ridiculous, and it would just ruin everything !"

"Addy…"

"And I'd so embarrassed I couldn't ever, ever face him again, and even less face Fred again !"

"Addy !" snapped Angelina.

I stopped talking – Angelina looked half-annoyed, half-amused. It felt good to talk to someone about it – but it made me feel pathetic.

"What ?" I muttered miserably.

She grabbed my arms, pulling me back up on the bed.

"Addy, you're forgetting one very important detail in all of this" she said.

I frowned, confused. She softly smiled.

"George fancies you too."

I stared back at her, shocked. The dormitory was completely silent – the only thing I could hear was the muffled sound of the music coming from the Common Room. I shook my head.

"No – that's ridiculous."

"It's not ridiculous at all ! Just think about it, Addy."

"I – no ! It's just not possible !"

"Addy, it's not only possible, it's _true._ I've seen it. I noticed it when you started dating Oliver last year – he would always mention you, ask about you. And the way he looked at you when you were with Oliver – it was obvious. So obvious."

"Why didn't you say anything ?" I asked faintly.

"Because you were _so_ happy with Oliver. Even George had to admit it."

"I was" I shrugged. "But that doesn't prove anything. He was just being a friend."

Angelina sighed.

"Addy. The way he looks at you, the way he takes care of you – it's more than that. You should see yourselves when you're together – it makes sense. Ask anyone."

"I don't know, Angie" I sighed. "I'm really confused."

"I know" she said, pulling me in her arms. "It's normal."

I hugged her back tightly. My head felt like it was going to explode. I honestly did not know what to do with everything Angelina had just told me. A part of me wanted to believe her, and run downstairs and kiss him, but another part just felt like crawling back into bed and sleep until it all went away.

Fortunately, when we went back downstairs to get dinner, the twins were already gone with Ron to see the dragons, so I was able to eat quietly. I had no idea of how I could ever act normal in front of George now. All I could think about was what Angelina had said to me - I kept repeating the words in my head, trying to make sense out of them.

I spent my entire Sunday in the library, trying to work. I struggled all day, unable of understanding one word of the chapters I had to read in _A Guide to Advanced Transfiguration_. On Monday, I could barely focus on what Professor Burbage was saying and isolated myself again in the library for the rest of the day. This couldn't go on, and I knew it – but I had no idea what to do. I thought of trying to avoid George as much as I could until I figured it out, but I knew it would be too hard – and deep down, I didn't want to do that. I just had to put on my best smile, and try to act like normal. It seemed to be working pretty well, as Fred kept calling me 'a Percy' every time he saw me.

I was very happy to see Tuesday arrive, as we all had the afternoon for the First Task. I could really use the distraction – and I avoided a class of Defence sitting next to George. When I sat down at lunch, after my Ancient Runes class, I could feel that everyone was restless. The Great Hall seemed to be buzzing with excitement – only Harry looked very tired, and very pale. I ignored Nik's stare on me - I had successfully avoided him for the past two days – and quietly ate my quiche, listening to the debate between Fred, George and Lee on who would get the best score.

We all walked to the huge stadium that had been set up for the event, and I suddenly found myself forgetting about all that had been on my mind for the past few days – I felt happy, and excited. Everyone was laughing, joking and making their bets. I was a little worried for Harry, but I knew he could handle it – he was Harry Potter, after all. After a few minutes of waiting, Ludo Bagman appeared. Fred and George darkly glared at him. They hadn't gotten a reply from him yet.

"Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen ! Good afternoon, and welcome to the First Task of the Triwizard Tournament !" said Bagman, enhancing his voice with a spell.

Everyone cheered loudly.

"Today, our champions will have to face their very first challenge – and quite a challenge that is. Indeed, they will need to use strategy and wit to defeat the world's biggest and most dangerous creatures – DRAGONS !"

As he said that last word, a dragon suddenly appeared from nowhere, roaring and looking very angry. Its scales were a beautiful silvery blue.

"WOAH !" yelled the twins beside me.

Everyone screamed – most out of excitement, but I noticed that some people looked quite worried, or even scared.

"The champions' goal – steal the golden egg from the dragon they are fighting" said Bagman, pointing the egg in the middle of the stadium. "Now, without further ado, please welcome, fighting against the terrible Swedish Short-Snout, Cedric Diggory !"

Cedric walked into the stadium, looking a little green, but determined. The Hufflepuffs, that were sitting a few meters away from us, staring screaming and cheering at the top of their lungs.

It took around fifteen minutes for Cedric to catch the golden egg – he succeeded by transfiguring a rock into a dog, which distracted the dragon long enough for him to get to the egg. He got a very good score – and we all applauded enthusiastically. Whatever the grudge we had against him for the last Quidditch match, we all had to agree that Cedric had done a fantastic job.

Next was the girl from Beauxbatons, Fleur Delacour, against the Common Welsh Green. She did a good job too, using a sleeping trance spell, even if her skirt caught fire for a few seconds – much to the amusement of the twins. After Fleur came Krum, and I was quite excited to see what would be his strategy. His Conjuctivitis Curse worked quite well, as he was able to snatch the golden egg very quickly, but the Chinese Fireball he was fighting against crushed many of the eggs he was guarding, which made him lose points.

"It's Harry's turn !" said Angelina when Krum was gone.

"Yeah, and I reckon he got the Horntail" said George.

"I hope he has a better strategy than Krum in mind" I muttered.

"He'll be fine !" said Fred enthusiastically. "It's Harry !"

The Hungarian Horntail suddenly made his entrance in the stadium, looking very restless and angry. I stared anxiously – I really hoped Harry would be all right. Charlie had told me it was the most dangerous of the lot. I joined the rest of the Gryffindors as we started cheering for Harry, who came in the stadium looking very, very pale. We saw him raise his wand and shout a spell, but I couldn't hear what it was.

"Looks like Mr Potter used a spell – what could it be ? What will be his strategy against the ferocious Hungarian Horntail ? Oh – looks like something is coming his way ! What is it ?"

We all looked up to see what it was – at first, it was only a small black dot in the blue sky, but as it got closer, we could all see clearly.

"It's his Firebolt !" I shouted, grinning.

"BRILLIANT !" yelled the twins.

We all started cheering even louder. It was brilliant – I was very impressed with Harry as he jumped on his broom and flew up in the air. He dived to try and snatch the egg as the Horntail shot a jet of fire right next to him – I nearly shrieked in fear. But Harry seemed to be in control, and avoided the flames like a pro.

"Great Scott, he can fly !" said Bagman. "Are you watching this, Mr. Krum ?"

I watched attentively as Harry tried to go around the dragon to get the egg – he nearly got his arm cut off, and a lot of times I thought he would get burned alive, but in the end, he managed to get the golden egg. I screamed at the top of my lungs with the others, feeling ecstatic.

"Look at that ! Will you look at that ! Our youngest champion is the quickest to get his egg ! Well, this is going to shorten the odds on Mr. Potter !"

We cheered Harry's name as he disappeared again, probably to get his shoulder fixed.

"That was _brilliant_ " I said, unable to stop smiling.

"Definitely the best strategy of them all" nodded Lee.

"Yeah, even Krum didn't think of that one !" laughed Angelina.

"I reckon he'll be first place" said Fred.

"If the judges would be barking mad not to give him the best score" said George.

We saw Ron and Hermione quickly run out of the stadium, probably to meet Harry. They all came back a few minutes later for the scores. Beauxbatons' director gave Harry an eight, Barty Crouch and Dumbledore a nine, Bagman a ten, and Karkaroff a four – which we were all scandalized about. But in the end, it didn't even matter, because Harry had tied in first place, equal with Krum.

I was in a really good mood when we all got back in the Common Room, and we all started planning a big surprise party for Harry.

"We need food" said Fred.

"A _lot_ of food" agreed George.

"And fireworks !" I said.

"Yes !" yelled the twins. "Lee, you still have some ?"

"Of course" he answered, grinning. "I'm going to start setting them up."

He ran upstairs, nearly tripping in the stairs in the process. I bursted out laughing.

"All right, let's pay a visit to our friends in the kitchens" said Fred.

"You coming, Addy ?" asked George as they stood up.

Our eyes met, and I froze. Angelina's words suddenly popped up in my head – _the way he looks at you –_ but I quickly shrugged them off. I had to act normal.

"You can bet I'm coming" I said.

I noticed how brightly he smiled when I stood up, and I felt my heart skip a beat. We ran to the kitchens, and I couldn't believe how happy I felt. The House Elves were quite excited to see us, and some of them asked about the First Task, so we sat down and told them everything. In return, they gave us an enormous amount of food and drinks – cakes, biscuits, Butterbeer, pumpkin juice, crisps, candy – that we had to carry with a Levitation Charm, since it was so heavy. We decided on the way to add a few Canary Creams to the lot, just to see who would take the bait.

When we got back to the Common Room, Dean Thomas had put up a huge banner on the wall that he drew, depicting Harry facing the Horntail. I bursted out laughing when I saw he had even added Cedric Diggory with his face on fire in the corner.

Harry arrived a few hours later, looking happier than he had been all year – I was glad for him. He had put the golden egg on the table, and I approached it, curiously looking at it.

"What do you reckon is in it ?" suddenly asked a voice.

I slightly jumped and turned to see George. He was smiling, two Butterbeers in his hands – he handed me one.

"Cheers" I said, taking it, trying really hard not to blush. "I have no idea. A clue for the next task, no doubt."

"Yeah. I wonder what will that be. I mean, they did start big with those dragons."

"And they are supposed to get worse and worse. I'd be really nervous if I was Harry."

"I know. It's mental."

I nodded, smiling, and there was a short silence. We both stared at the golden egg. I tried to come up with something coherent and interesting to say, but I couldn't think straight.

"Hey, I've been meaning to ask you –"

I looked up at him, frowning, but he was cut off by Lee, who pushed himself between us and took the egg in his hands. I cleared my throat, quickly looking away.

"Blimey, this is heavy" said Lee. "Open it, Harry, go on ! Let's just see what's inside it !"

He turned around, walking towards Harry, and I looked at George in hope he would want to continue the conversation – but he wasn't looking in my direction. I bit my lip – what had he wanted to ask me ? I was dying to know, but everyone was busy looking at Harry now.

"Yeah, go on, Harry, open it !"

The egg got passed to Harry, who opened it without hesitation. Suddenly, a loud, shrieking, terrible noise filled the Common Room, and I instantly put my hand over my ears, nearly dropping my Butterbeer in the process – it really wasn't enjoyable. It sounded like someone screaming in pain.

"Shut it !" yelled Fred.

Harry quickly shut the egg – and we all sighed in relief.

"What was that ?" asked Seamus Finnigan. "Sounded like a banshee… Maybe you've got to get past one of those next, Harry !"

"It was someone being tortured !" said Neville Longbottom. "You're going to have to fight the Cruciatus Curse !"

"Don't be a prat, Neville, that's illegal" replied George. "They wouldn't use the Cruciatus Cruse on the champions. I thought it sounded a bit like Percy singing… maybe you've got to attack him while he's in the shower, Harry."

I couldn't help but start laughing, and gave George a nudge in the ribs. He glared at me, a smirk on his face. The Common Room seemed to go back to how it was – the music started playing again and everyone exchanged thoughts about what the clue could be about. I followed George to join Fred, who grabbed a plate of cakes with a mysterious smile on his face.

"Want a jam tart, Hermione ?" he said, offering her the plate.

I frowned, glancing at George – had they done something to them ? But George didn't even look at me, as he was only trying to contain his laughter. But Hermione didn't the bait, staring suspiciously at the tarts.

"It's all right" said Fred. "I haven't done anything to them. It's the custard creams you've got to watch –"

Someone choked beside me – I turned to see Neville Longbottom spitting one of them out of his mouth. I bit my lip to keep from laughing.

"Just my little joke, Neville…" said Fred.

"Did you get all this from the kitchens, Fred ?" asked Hermione.

"Yep. 'Anything we can get you, sir, anything at all' !" said Fred, imitating a house-elf. "They're dead helpful… get me a roast ox if I said I was peckish. They made Addy this huge strawberry shortcake when she was stressed out about the OWLS last year."

I nodded.

"It was delicious" I said, smiling at the memory.

"How do you get in there ?" asked Hermione.

"Easy, concealed door behind a painting of a bowl of fruit. Just tickle the pear, and it giggles and –"

Fred stopped, narrowing his eyes.

"Why ?"

"Nothing" replied Hermione.

"Going to try and lead the house-elves on strike now, are you ? Going to give up all the leaflet stuff and try and stir them up into rebellion ?" he said.

"They love it down there, Hermione" I added.

"Don't you go upsetting them and telling them they've got to take clothes and salaries ! You'll put them off their cooking" warned Fred.

Hermione seemed to want to object, and I was worried this would turn into yet another debate, but fortunately, Neville – who had continued eating his custard cream – suddenly turned into a canary. I stared at him, amused, while the whole Common Room bursted out laughing.

"Oh – sorry, Neville ! I forgot – it _was_ the custard creams we hexed…"

I rolled my eyes at him, even though I was amused. The twins had always known how to put on a show.

"Canary Creams !" shouted Fred. "George and I invented them – seven Sickles each, a bargain !"

They looked so proud – and at that moment, I felt so good. It was like everything was all right with the world again. I even smiled brightly when George's eyes fell on me – and Angelina's word echoed in my head again – _it makes sense_. And then, for the first time, I thought that, yes – maybe this made sense after all.


	15. vol I : chapter fifteen

_Hello! Thank you again to all of you for the reviews/follows/favorites. It means a lot!  
_ _This chapter is shorter, but it introduces an event I think you are all waiting for... :)  
Also, if I get 5 reviews on this one today, I'll post the next chapter tomorrow morning - or even maybe tonight.  
_ _Enjoy ! x_

* * *

 **wildest dreams  
** VOLUME I

* * *

 **CHAPTER FIFTEEN**

* * *

"Is this supposed to be your Hiccoughing Solution, miss Harlowe ?"

I lifted my eyes to see Snape staring at me – _bugger._

"Er – I may have made a little mistake on the way, sir."

"A _little_ mistake, you say ?" he said, raising an eyebrow.

I bit my lip.

"I think you might as well start over, miss Harlowe."

He flickered his wand at my cauldron – immediately, the mixture inside it disappeared, and Snape walked away. I groaned, pushing Fred who was trying to contain his laughter next to me.

"Shut it, you prat, and help me" I muttered.

I had never been good at Potions – unfortunately, for a reason that entirely escaped me, I needed to complete the course in order to be able to work at the Ministry. How being able to brew a Hiccoughing Solution would help me at the Wizengamot, I didn't know. Thursdays were always a pain to me – we had two hours of Potions in the morning, and Transfiguration in the afternoon. I liked McGonagall, but her lessons always felt horribly long.

It had been more than a week since the First Task, and as December arrived, it got colder and got colder. Hogwarts had gotten its first snowfall the day before – we had spent the day getting in snowball fights, and had been so absorbed that we nearly missed History of Magic – fortunately, Binns didn't even notice us arriving almost late, soaked to the bone by the snow.

I spent the remaining time of the class trying to make a good Hiccoughing Solution, but it was quite hard with Fred who kept messing up with my ingredients, by either stealing them or dropping them in my cauldron whenever he felt like it. I ended up making his own Potion burst into flames.

After lunch, we all went to Transfiguration, where I sat with Angelina. We spent the whole time trying out a spell to change the colour of eyebrows – George succeeded in the end, changing Fred's eyebrows from ginger to a bright blue, making the whole class laugh.

"Now, everyone – I need your attention for a few more minutes. I have an announcement to make" said McGonagall at the end of the hour.

I was trying really hard not to laugh at Fred's blue eyebrows – but I tried to focus on what McGonagall had to say.

"You may have heard that the Yule Ball is approaching – it is a traditional part of the Triwiard Tournament, and an opportunity for us to socialize with our foreign guests."

I raised an eyebrow at 'socialize'. Also, a ball ? What was that all about ? I heard a few girls from Ravenclaw giggle at the front of the class.

"Now, the ball will be open only to fourth years and above – but you may invite a younger student if you wish… although I wouldn't recommend it, as you are all at least sixteen."

I smiled, suddenly imagining a sixth year showing up with a first year.

"Dress robes will be worn, and the ball will start at eight o'clock on Christmas Day, finishing at midnight in the Great Hall. Now then – the Yule Ball is for everyone to enjoy. But that does NOT mean that we will be relaxing the standards of behavior we expect from Hogwarts students. I will be most seriously displeased if a Gryffindor student embarrasses the school in any way."

I noticed how her eyes were fixed on Fred and George.

"Now, it is expected of students to come to the Yule Ball accompanied – so, we will all have to find a partner for the evening. Good luck."

As the bell rang, the whole class erupted in laughter, shrieking and annoyed sighs. I immediately turned to Angelina and Alicia – they looked quite excited.

"This is _so_ exciting" said Angelina, grabbing her bag.

"It was until she mentioned the dates" I said.

"Oh, that's nothing, Addy" said Alicia. "Besides, the _boys_ invite the girls, so all we have to do is buy our dresses and wait."

We got out of the room and started walking to the Gryffindor Tower.

"Waiting around and shopping. Sounds like fun…" I muttered.

"We should go to Hogsmeade this weekend – before all the good dresses are gone" said Alicia.

"Absolutely" said Angelina. "And Addy, you _have_ to come."

"I will ! I may not like shopping but I still don't want to look like a troll" I said.

"Too late, Addy. You already look like a troll" said Fred behind me.

He, George and Lee had joined us.

"Thank you, Fred. I can always count on you for a nice compliment."

"It's an honour, truly. So, ladies, excited about the ball ?"

"Of course they are, Fred. Girls live for that sort of thing" said George.

"Ha - like _you_ aren't excited" said Alicia.

"I bet you're all thinking about who you're going to ask" nodded Angelina.

George snickered.

"Like you aren't thinking about who you'd want to go with. 'Oh, I hope Krum notices me ! Do you think he will ask me ? I hope he –'"

He had been trying to imitate our voices, but I cut him short by throwing my Transfiguration book at him. When we sat down at the Great Hall, everyone was only talking about the ball. I was getting excited at the idea of dressing up and dancing – but the whole 'finding a partner' thing was making me nervous. Was I really supposed to just wait until someone asked me ? What if no one asked me ? I certainly knew who I _wanted_ to be asking me – but I couldn't let myself hope that, not for one second.

The castle was buzzing with excitement once again, with everyone talking about what they would wear and who they would invite. That weekend, me and the girls went to Hogsmeade to buy our dresses – we hoped to be one of the early birds, but to our dismay, we weren't the only ones to think the same. The only dress shop was packed when we got there – Alicia managed to find something she liked, but Angelina couldn't choose, and I was just overwhelmed by the crowd, so we decided to just give up and come back another time.

The next Monday night, I came back from the library to find the twins working on another letter to Ludo Bagman.

"He still hasn't replied ?" I asked.

"Not a word" said George.

"We tried to get a hold of him at the First Task – but he avoided like us the plague" sighed Fred.

"You're going to send another letter ?"

"Yeah, and this time, it won't be as nice" nodded Fred.

I quickly read the parchment – it was very direct, but I knew there was no other solution.

"What do you think ?" asked George.

"Sounds good. When are you going to send it ?"

"Now, if we can. We just have to ask Ron for Pig."

They stood up and went to the table where Harry, Ron and Hermione were sitting – Ron had just blew up his cards, his eyebrows almost disappearing in the process. I chuckled at the sight, joining Angelina and Alicia who were talking by the fire.

"So, any news ?" I asked them, snacking on some Bertie Botts beans.

"Actually, yes – Alicia got asked by Andrew Lachlan."

"The Ravenclaw Prefect ?"

Alicia nodded, smiling shyly.

"That's great, Alicia ! He's really cute" I said with a smile.

"I know. And he was so nice about it, too. Brought flowers and everything" she said.

"You're joking !"

"I'm _so_ jealous" muttered Angelina.

"Oh, your turn will come, don't worry about it" said Alicia.

"Fred hasn't asked you yet ?" I said, frowning.

"No. At this point I'm wondering if he ever will."

"Of course he –"

"Oi ! Angelina !" shouted a voice.

We all turned to see Fred, on the other side of the room.

"What ?"

"Want to come to the ball with me ?"

I gaped, staring at Angelina. She waited a second, like she was thinking about it.

"All right, then" she said, turning back to us.

She was grinning from ear to ear – me and Alicia shrieked with excitement.

"What did I tell you !" I exclaimed.

"Could've been more romantic" she said.

"Angie, don't forget it's Fred Weasley you're dealing with – he doesn't even know what 'romantic' means."

"Yeah, and besides, it actually could have been a lot worse" nodded Alicia.

Angelina had to admit at least that. We spent the rest of the evening talking about it – I was really happy for Alicia and Angelina, but I did feel a bit left out. I was the only one left without a date – well, with George, of course.

I hadn't talked to Nik since our disastrous date at Hogsmeade – I honestly didn't know what to say to him. I was secretly hoping that I had made such a horrible impression that he wouldn't talk to me for the rest of the year, but I still felt a little bad about the way I reacted. After all, he hadn't been rude or disrespectful in any way – he had just been a little too eager, and had acted on really bad timing. So when I saw him walk by the next Tuesday night in the park – we were just leaving Defence and enjoying the weather outside – I decided to go and apologize, hoping it take a weight off my shoulders.

"I'll be right back" I told the twins.

I turned on my heels and ran to meet Nik.

"Nik !" I called.

Fortunately, he had heard me, and turned around. I stopped in front of him, smiling softly.

"Hi" he said.

He didn't annoyed or angry, which I thought was a good sign – but then again, he wasn't smiling either. I took a deep breath, wrapping my scarf around my neck.

"Look – I just wanted to apologize for the way I acted. Back in Hogsmeade, I mean. It was rude to run away like I did."

"Why did you ? I didn't understand."

"Yeah – I should've explained myself a lot sooner. I just – I've been very confused about – er… About a lot of things, and I just took it out on you, and I'm sorry. I really am."

He was silent for a few seconds, observing me. Then, his lips broke into a smile.

"It's okay. I understand – I realize I got ahead of myself."

I smiled back, genuinely relieved.

"I couldn't help it – it was such a nice day, and you were so beautiful – well, you still are."

I laughed awkwardly.

"Well, I'm glad we settled that" I said. "I'll see you around."

I turned to leave, but he grabbed my arm.

"Wait !"

I faced him again, eyebrows raised.

"Can I ask you something ?" he said, still smiling.

"Sure" I muttered, anticipating his question.

"I want to make things right now."

I felt the blood drain out my face.

"Oh – that's not –" I blabbered.

"Addy, would you like to go to the ball with me ?"

It took all the strength I had in me not to let out a groan, or sigh. I just stared at him, paralyzed, while he stared back, his eyes full of hope.

"I – er –"

"Please" he insisted. "It would be a honor for me."

For a moment, I thought about saying yes – not because I wanted to go with him, but because it would be so much easier. I wouldn't have to wonder at every second if George was ever going to ask me, or to lie awake at night imagining what it would be like going to the ball by myself, or dreaming about George going with someone else, someone prettier, someone cleverer than me. But then, I imagined myself actually going with Nik – who probably didn't even care about me at all, who would leave at the end of the year leaving only his memory, who had kissed me when I was thinking about someone else. And it suddenly became clear to me – this was my decision, and I would take it for me. I took a deep breath, and straightened up.

"I'm sorry, Nik – but no. It's very nice of you to ask, but I have to say no."

He frowned – obviously, he hadn't expected me to say no. But I felt good about my decision.

"Can – can I ask why ? Are you going with someone else ?"

"It doesn't matter. I think you're a very good person, and I'm sure you'll find the perfect partner – but I'm afraid it won't be me."

It took a few seconds for him to react. I thought he might scream at me, as his neck turned into a bright shade of red, but he only nodded sharply.

"Very well."

And without another word, he turned on his heels and walked away. I closed my eyes, breathing out, enjoying the cold wind on my face. I felt like had just freed myself from something – and it felt good, so good. As I walked back to the others, I couldn't stop smiling. I didn't even care about going to the ball alone, now – at least, it would have been my own choice.

"What was that all about ?" asked Fred when I got back.

"Did he ask you to the ball ?" said Angelina.

"It doesn't matter. Now, I don't know for you, but I'm famished."

And, still smiling, I started walking back to the Great Hall.


	16. vol I : chapter sixteen

_As promised... here's chapter 16 ! (already?!)_  
 _Thank you all for the amazing feedback on the last chapter! Wow, you guys are amazing._  
 _A lot of you have been asking if/how George will ask Addy to the ball..._  
 _Well, I won't tell you anything, but I can't tell you it won't be that easy, and you'll see why in this chapter :)_  
 _Please keep reviewing ! Love hearing from you!_  
 _Enjoy x_

* * *

 **wildest dreams  
** VOLUME I

* * *

 **CHAPTER SIXTEEN**

* * *

About a week before Christmas, I was sitting in the Common Room, trying to work on my assignment for Arithmancy, when a first year that I had never seen before came up to me, looking a little bit nervous.

"Er – Adelaide Harlowe ?"

"Can I… help you ?" I said, frowning.

"Professor Dumbledore would like to see you in his office."

I raised an eyebrow.

"Oh – okay. Thanks."

"Sure. Oh – and, also, you should know – caramel."

I frowned again, but before I could ask him what he meant, he ran upstairs. I stared down at my parchment, wondering what Dumbledore could ever want with _me_. I racked my brain, trying to find out if I had done something bad for the last few days, but with the exception of selling a few more Canary Creams to third years, I didn't have a single idea of what this meeting could be about.

"What was that all about ?" asked George, who had been listening from the couch.

"I have no idea" I shrugged. "Better go and find out."

"I'm coming with you."

I didn't even have time to protest – George was already up, grabbing his sweater.

"Okay" I muttered.

I carefully ignored Angelina's stare as we walked out of the Common Room, and started making our way to Dumbledore's office, which wasn't very far from the Gryffindor Tower.

"You know, I was thinking – Fever Fudge, Puking Pastiles– they're used for the same thing, right ?"

"Yeah, getting out of classes" I nodded.

"Well, why not make it a package, you know ? Buy the box and you get all of them – something like that."

"That's brilliant ! I'm sure people would buy them" I said with a smile.

"I think so too. But we need more, two isn't enough. Any ideas ?"

I thought for a while.

"Well, we need things that get you to the infirmary, like a fever… Ooh ! Why not a nosebleed ?" I said excitedly. "Remember last year, when Katie told us about how she got a nosebleed during Potions ? Snape sent her straight to Madame Pomfrey."

"Brilliant idea" nodded George. "I bet it wouldn't be that hard to make."

"You just need a name. Something that starts with the same letter, to continue the theme. What food starts with 'n' ?"

"Nuts ?" suggested George. "Nah – too many people are allergic. Wouldn't sell well."

"Noodles ?" I said.

"Too complicated" laughed George. "Oh, I've got it."

"What ?"

"Nougat."

I laughed.

"That sounds good. Nosebleed Nougat."

"Perfect" he said.

He raised his hand, and I gave him a high five.

"We make a good team, you and I" he said.

I glanced at him, smiling.

"We do" I agreed.

We stared into each other's eyes for a few seconds, and I looked away, very aware that I was probably blushing. Luckily, we had arrived in front of the gargoyle that lead to Dumbledore's office.

"Thanks for accompanying me" I said.

"No problem. I'll just wait for you here, in case you need emotional support when you come out."

I chuckled, and turned to the gargoyle.

"Caramel" I called, and it started to turn around.

Soon the stairs appeared before me, and I glanced one last time at George before I went up. He looked so calm, and so handsome, standing there in the hallway – his blue sweater matching his eyes, his hair messy on his head. I quickly chased away the thought – I had to focus. I was going to see Dumbledore, after all.

When I got to the door, I knocked on it a few times, and after a few seconds, it opened by itself. Dumbledore was sitting at his office, smiling kindly.

"Ah, miss Harlowe – please, come in."

I had only been in Dumbledore's office once before – in second year, when I got in trouble with Fred and George for pranking Marcus Flint. It was the same as I remembered – vast, intriguing, welcoming.

"Good evening, Professor" I said, walking towards his desk.

"Please, take a seat. Caramel ?" he smiled, offering me a small, brown candy.

"No, thank you."

I smiled – it seemed like when Dumbledore changed the password to his office, it was according to the candy he most fancied at the time.

"Now, miss Harlowe" started Dumbledore. "I'm sure you very well know that the Yule Ball is taking place next week."

"Of course" I nodded, intrigued.

"And I'm sure you have heard rumors about a certain musical guest for the event."

I nodded – I had heard that my uncle's band would be coming. I had asked him about him, but hadn't gotten a reply yet. I wasn't very concerned, though – I knew he was touring in America.

"Well, I thought I should tell you first – I have been in contact with your uncle, and I can confirm that he and his fellow comrades have agreed to come and play for us at the Yule Ball."

I gasped in excitement.

"Really ? That's brilliant !"

"Yes, I must say I am very happy that they agreed. Now, since you know Mr. Wagtail and his friends very well, I thought you might like to be the one to welcome them at Hogwarts, and make sure they find their way around."

"Of course, Professor, I would love to."

"Now, I also trust you to keep the secret of this news to your classmates… Even to your closest friends."

"I won't say a word, I promise" I chuckled.

"Very well. I will owl you the details in a few days – good night, miss Harlowe."

"Good night, Professor. And thank you !"

Dumbledore only smiled as I stood up to leave. I was definitely excited about the Yule Ball now. I would see my uncle again – that would feel good. I went down the stairs, grinning from ear to ear.

"I'm guessing it went well" said George when the gargoyle closed behind me.

"Extremely well" I nodded.

I couldn't stay still – so we started making our way back.

"Are you going to tell me what it was about ?"

"Oh – I wish I could ! But I can't say anything, I promised Dumbledore."

"You promised _Dumbledore_ ? What is so important you can't tell me ?" he frowned.

"It's a surprise, George."

I heard him sigh – he seemed annoyed.

"Sorry" I added faintly.

"It's fine. You've already got all those secrets – what's one more ?"

I stopped and faced him, frowning.

"What is that supposed to mean ?" I asked.

"Nothing."

"George, there's clearly something you want to say. So why don't you just say it !"

I didn't know why I was suddenly angry, and why I was suddenly able to talk to him so freely, but I did – maybe I was just tired of pretending. I had always been honest to George, and I hated not to be. Things needed to change.

"Fine" he said sharply. "I don't know what happened to you, Addy. You've been acting all weird recently. You're never around – and when you decide to show up, you refuse to tell us anything !"

I pecked my lips. There it was. There was the truth. Of course he would have noticed. I was such an idiot to think it would go unnoticed.

"It's like you don't want to be friends with us anymore –"

"You know that's not true" I said faintly, cutting him off.

"Well, it certainly feels like it. I mean… We used to tell each other everything. Now I feel like I barely know anything about your life. That you're blocking me out. And I don't understand why."

I couldn't stand to look at him anymore – I was too busy fighting the tears burning my eyes. I was gritting my teeth so hard my jaw started to hurt.

"I don't –" I said, my voice breaking. "I'm sorry."

"If you're sorry, why don't just tell me what's going on !"

But I knew I couldn't do that. I knew I couldn't look at him and tell him what was going on. Because if I did, I knew it would ruin everything. Whatever Angelina had said. I could feel George's eyes on me, waiting. The silence was deafening.

"I can't" I let out quietly.

"Why ? Why can't you ?" he said, his voice getting slightly louder.

I didn't answer. My head was starting to hurt. I just wanted to run away, but my legs were shaking too hard.

"I don't understand, Addy. Help me understand."

"George, I told you – I can't !" I cried out, finally looking up to meet his stare.

It felt like his eyes were burning into mine. I saw how he looked disappointed, and confused, and angry.

"What has gotten into you ?" he said quietly. "It all started with that Durmstrang -"

"Oh, don't bring Nik into this !" I exclaimed – he was the last thing I wanted to think about.

"No, I am going to bring him into this, because he's whole bloody reason we're having this conversation !"

I laughed bitterly, shaking my head.

"You call _that_ a conversation ? I'm going to bed."

I sharply turned around, determined to run back to my dormitory, crawl into bed and cry myself to sleep. I hated fighting. I hated everything about this situation. At that specific moment, I hated Nik, and I hated George, and I hated myself.

"You could have told me you were going to the ball with him."

George's voice was quiet – I barely heard it. I froze, my heart pounding in my chest. I slowly turned around, frowning.

"What ? What are you bloody talking about ?"

"Oh, don't play that card."

"I'm not playing any card – where did you hear that ?"

"It was obvious, Addy. That day in the park – you went to talk to him, and when you came back, you had this huge smile on your face. I'm not an idiot, whatever you might think."

I was so shocked that I couldn't even formulate a coherent answer.

"I'm not – It's not –"

"Will you stop pretending ? I _know_ you're going with him. And I know that you've been going on dates, and I know that you like him –"

"Stop ! You don't know anything, George."

"Look, Addy – you can do whatever you want" he shrugged. "I certainly can't stop you. But I just thought you would at least tell your best friends about it."

I felt like a lost child. I couldn't find the words. I couldn't even think straight. I just stared at him, stared at the sadness in his eyes, stared at his clenched fists.

"And by the way, I think you deserve a lot better."

I didn't say anything as he walked beside and past me. My mind was blank. I listened to the sounds of his steps, getting more and more faint. I closed my eyes, feeling the tears finally slide from the corner of my eyes to my cheeks. And I started to cry. I didn't know what else to do. It was the only thing I could do. My head was pounding, my chest hurt, my eyes burned.

I don't know for how long I stood there. It certainly felt like forever. When I seemed to be able to breathe again, I only wanted to do one thing – go to sleep. So I blankly walked back to the Common Room, ignored everyone and got into bed. Sleep did not come easy, and when it did, I only dreamt of loneliness and pain.


	17. vol I : chapter seventeen

_Hello everyone!_  
 _I hope the wait wasn't too much of a torture after last chapter... haha!_  
 _Thank you for the feedback - I'm sorry I'm making you guys suffer :)_  
 _Anyways - this one is short, and there isn't a lot of action, but I still hope you enjoy it._  
 _Don't forget to review ! It always motivates me to publish quicker !_  
 _Enjoy xx_

* * *

 **wildest dreams  
** VOLUME I

* * *

 **CHAPTER SEVENTEEN**

* * *

I usually spent my Sundays in the library, trying to get ahead of work – but I was too tired to do anything when I woke up the next day. All the joy I had felt from the idea of my uncle coming had disappeared. I only felt hollow. I stayed in bed until everyone was gone, ignoring Angelina softly calling my name. She told me she and Alicia were to Hogsmeade to find her a dress – but I really wasn't in the mood, so I pretended to still be sleeping. I waited until it was past eleven to get dressed – I ate breakfast almost by myself in the Great Hall, and went out for a walk, hoping the fresh air would do me some good.

It was a beautiful day. The sun was shining, making the small amount of snow on the ground shine brightly. I sat down next to the lake, looking at the breath-taking scenery around me. I would miss Hogwarts when I would leave it. I only had a year and a half left, after all. The future felt blurry – I knew where I was going, but so many things that I had previously been certain of suddenly didn't seem so certain anymore. I hated the feeling.

I had tried so hard to hide my feelings, just so I wouldn't lose George's friendship – but it seemed that I had lost it anyway. I knew I was being dramatic, and that if I was half the Gryffindor the Sorting Hat thought I was, I would just confront him again and try to make things right. But I felt like a coward. I was scared. I was so bloody scared.

When I got back inside, there was a package with a letter attached to it waiting for me in the Common Room. The room was very quiet, as everyone was either at Hogsmeade or enjoying the weather – so there was no one to disturb me. I opened the letter – it was from my uncle.

 _Dear Addy,_

 _I hope this reaches you in time. By now Dumbledore has probably told you the big news – we're coming at Hogwarts to play at the Yule Ball ! We're very excited – I can't wait to see you._

 _I hope everything is going well from you at Hogwarts. I know you have a lot on your plate – don't forget to take some time for you. I know you will succeed in everything you want to do. I know nobody more talented and more determined than you._

 _I know you weren't very excited about the idea of shopping for a dress – so here's a little something that might help. I hope you like it – I picked your favorite color._

 _I'll see you very soon._

 _Take care._

 _Myron_

I smiled – the letter really warmed my heart. I carefully opened the package, curious to see what it was. I noticed the color first – a dark, deep burgundy – exactly my favorite color. I pulled out the dress from the package, admiring it like a treasure. I liked everything about it – the draping, the soft tissue, the one shoulder strap – everything. My uncle really knew me well. I went upstairs to try it on. It fit me perfectly. I then carefully hanged it beside my bed, to make sure it wouldn't get wrinkled. I was excited to wear it, but thinking about the ball brought back the memories of the previous night, and it all suddenly got a little bittersweet.

I was quietly reading next to the fireplace, later that day, when Angelina and Alicia came back from Hogsmeade. I noticed that Angelina was carrying a big bag.

"Hey" I smiled as they sat down.

"Hey, how are you feeling ?" asked Angelina.

"I'm okay. Why ?"

"Well…" she hesitated.

"Fred told us that you had a fight with George" quietly said Alicia.

"Oh."

I hadn't expected the news to travel so fast – but I probably should've had.

"We met him outside Zonko. Apparently, George has been in a foul mood all day" she added.

I didn't know if that made me happy or even more sad.

"Is there anything we can do ?" asked Angelina.

"It's not that big of a deal" I said, shaking my head. "I'm fine. I just needed some time alone."

They nodded, still looking concerned. I didn't want them to be – I just wanted to think about something else. I smiled, pointing at the bag at Angelina's feet.

"What is in there ?"

"Oh, it's just –"

"Is it your dress ?" I asked with enthusiasm.

"Yeah" she answered with a small smile.

"Show me !"

She carefully took it out of the bag and laid it on her – I already knew it would suit her perfectly. It was a dark purple, and matched her skin and her eyes.

"She looks stunning in it" said Alicia.

"I'm sure" I said. "I know a certain ginger that will drool all over you all night."

"Oh, don't exaggerate."

"I'm not !"

We were laughing, admiring Angelina's dress, when Fred, George and Lee came in. Fred and Lee immediately came towards us, but George just stood next to the doorway, his eyes meeting mine. I quickly looked away to stare at the flames in the fireplace. My heart was suddenly beating really, really fast. I only half-listened to Angelina telling Fred how he couldn't see her dress before the ball – and him starting to develop theories on what it looked like. When I finally gathered the courage to look back, he was gone.

"Oi, Addy. Addy !"

I suddenly realized that someone was calling my name. I turned to Fred, eyebrows raised.

"Sorry, Fred. What is it ?"

"Blimey, what's up with everyone today ?" sighed Lee.

"Lee, Addy's upset" said Angelina. "Could you please show a little –"

"I'm not upset" I said, cutting her off. "What is it, Fred ?"

"I got you this at Honeydukes. Thought it might make you feel better."

He was handing me a box of Pumpkin Pasties – I smiled as I took it.

"Thanks."

"You should really talk to George, you know. You can't just leave it like that. I'm just saying."

"I know" I nodded.

He then quickly changed the subject, asking Lee about his date to the ball. I listened quietly, eating my Pasties, and went to bed early.

The days that followed were probably my worst at Hogwarts – not only did I feel grim and tired, but I also didn't see or talked to George at all. We avoided each other like the plague, and that resulted in me being alone most of the time. Sometimes, Fred would come and keep me company, and Angelina often went with me to the library, but I still felt isolated. Plus, the teachers didn't let the coming holidays stop them – Snape was being harder on us than ever, and I had a full essay due in Muggle Studies on the last day of classes.

As the Yule Ball got closer, I started getting more and more anxious. I wasn't sure even sure I would go anymore – perhaps I would just get my uncle and his band, lead them to where they needed to be and watch the concert from backstage like I always did. The whole idea of dressing up and going dancing seemed odd to me, as the last few days had been awkward with everyone. I certainly didn't want to ruin the mood for anyone.

I was trying to study in the library on a Sunday night when I saw Hermione walk towards me.

"Hi" she said, smiling softly. "Can I sit down ?"

"Of course" I replied.

I moved my books to one side one of the table so that she could put down hers. She sat down, eyebrows raised.

"It's just – I'm usually alone here on Sunday nights. So when I saw you – I thought it would be nice not to sit by myself for once" she explained.

"I'm glad you didn't. It will be nice to have some company."

She smiled.

"What are you working on ?" she asked.

"Muggle Studies. It's an essay on the British monarchy… And I can't understand a thing about it, if I'm being honest."

"I can help you, if you want. I know a little about it."

"That'd be great ! I mean – if you don't mind, of course !"

"I don't."

She then helped me figure out some details about the topic that I wasn't sure of. It turned out that when Hermione said she knew 'a little' about something, she actually knew _a lot_. I was very grateful for her help, and gave her a hand with her History of Magic assignment in return. It was starting to get really late when we both finished our work. We closed our books, and started walking back to the Common Room, talking about the Tournament and Hermione sharing her worries about the OWLS.

"You'll be fine, Hermione" I smiled. "If I can do it, you certainly can."

"I'm mostly worried about Defense Against the Dark Arts, you know. I'm not very good at it – not like Harry is."

"Some people are just natural at certain things. But believe me, you have nothing to worry about. DADA was quite easy – even Fred and George, who didn't study at all, got Exceed Expectations – so did Lee, if I remember well."

She nodded, looking slightly relieved. I was glad to be able to make her feel better – I wish I had had someone to do that last year.

"Speaking of Fred and George – I got to say, it's rare to see you without them."

"Yeah – yeah, I guess you're right" I said faintly.

"Is everything all right ?" she asked, frowning.

It was probably very obvious – I had never been very good at hiding my feelings. And Hermione _was_ very intuitive. Sometimes I wondered why she hadn't been put in Ravenclaw.

"Yeah, it's just – a silly fight, you know. Nothing bad."

"What happened ?"

I hesitated. It wasn't that I didn't trust Hermione – I just wasn't sure if I wanted to talk about it.

"You don't have to talk about it" she quickly added. "It's just – you look like you could use an ear."

I smiled, nodding. She was right – maybe it would make me feel better. I told her about how I had fought with George, carefully excluding that it had all happened because I fancied him a little bit more than I would've liked. But Hermione, of course, figured it all out.

"I'm not very skilled in this area – but, to me, it sounds like you should just talk to him. You obviously both have a lot of things to say to each other."

"What do you mean ?"

"That you like each other."

I blushed furiously, but didn't deny it. Hermione laughed softly.

"I mean – what other explanation is there ?" she continued. "You're just both very stubborn –"

"Hey !" I said playfully.

"- not in a bad way" she added, blushing. "But you are. And you are both scared that admitting your feelings to the other will ruin your friendship – when it obviously won't."

"I'm not sure I'm ready to admit that, though" I said miserably.

"I understand. I do" she nodded.

I frowned, and wanted to ask about it, but she quickly added something, preventing me from doing so.

"But you should at least talk to him. Explain yourself."

I nodded – she was right. As we entered the Common Room, I hugged her warmly.

"Thank you, Hermione. I don't know why I didn't come to you in the first place."

"I'm there if you need me. Oh, and good luck for your essay !"

"Good luck for yours ! And thanks again."

She turned to join Harry, who was sitting quietly by the fire, and I ran upstairs to go to bed, my mind buzzing with activity – sleep wouldn't come easy.


	18. vol I : chapter eighteen

_Good night/morning everyone!_  
 _I decided to post this chapter because I'm leaving for Maine tomorrow and I won't be able to update in a few days._  
 _So I thought I would give you a little something before I leave!_  
 _I think you guys will enjoy it :)_  
 _Thank you for the all the feedback once again! You're the best._  
 _Enjoy ! And don't forget to review and tell me what you think xx_

* * *

 **wildest dreams  
** VOLUME I

* * *

 **CHAPTER EIGHTEEN**

* * *

A few days before Christmas Eve, I simply couldn't sleep. I had had trouble falling asleep ever since my fight with George – but for some reason, that night was worse than the others. After shifting in my bed for hours, I decided to go and take a walk around the castle – maybe it would clear my head a little. I went down to the Common Room, which was plunged into darkness. Even the fireplace was dark. I wrapped my robe tighter against me, feeling the chill of the night time, and started walking to the portrait.

"Hey" suddenly said a voice.

I sharply turned around, letting out a small scream – but it was only George. I hadn't noticed him sitting down next to the window. My heart was pounding in my chest from the fright.

"Sorry. Didn't want to scare you."

"It's okay – I just thought there was no one here" I answered.

We awkwardly looked at each other. It was the first time we talked since the fight. It felt a little weird.

"Can't sleep ?" he asked.

I nodded slowly.

"Yeah, me neither."

I noticed he was wearing his pyjamas, like me. That made me think of all the sleepovers we'd had in the past – staying up until dusk, eating Chocolate Frogs until we got sick. I almost smiled at the thought.

"Where are you going ?" he asked.

"I was just going on a walk. To clear my head."

There was a short silence. I thought about what Hermione had said.

"Do you wanna come ?"

"Do you mind me coming ?"

We had spoken at the same time – I couldn't help but let out a laugh. He smiled too. It felt good to see him smile.

"Sure" I said.

He nodded, and we quietly passed the portrait. The Fat Lady eyed us suspiciously – but she was used to us going out after curfew. After some time, she stopped trying to tell on us – especially after the twins convinced her that they were huge fans of her singing.

The castle was dark and quiet – as I most liked it. We walked in silence, his hands in his pockets, my arms crossed on my chest. We walked all the way up to the Astronomy Tower like this, not saying a word. It gave me time to find the right words – it was more than time for me to explain myself. Hermione was right. George deserved that I at least told him the truth, whatever the consequences. I would face them.

It was too cold to actually got all the way to the top, so we stayed inside, sitting down on one of the benches, facing the window. I could barely see the sky through it – only the darkness.

"There are some things I want to say" I said quietly. "Can you promise not to interrupt me until I'm done ?"

He nodded, his face dimly lit by the moonlight.

"Okay" I said, taking a deep breath. "First of all, I'm sorry. I have been the worst friend recently. I've done and I've said a lot of things I regret. But I don't want to make excuses. I want to explain – because I feel like you deserve an explanation."

I didn't even look at him – I just stared at the darkness, finding a comfort in it.

"I haven't been feeling like myself recently. I started feeling things I never thought I would feel, and everything I thought I knew about myself and my life just became so… blurry. So when Nik started to get interested in me, I thought it could be a good thing – maybe all I had to do was try something new, meet new people, and maybe that way I could finally understand myself. So I said yes when he invited me to Hogsmeade. But you know, that whole time I was with him, I could just feel something missing. And I told myself that it was because of me, of _my_ attitude, so I kept going. And then – he kissed me, just like that, and then I knew that it wasn't right. I ran away, as fast as I could. I felt like a complete idiot for thinking pushing away all my problems would make them disappear. It only made them worse, you know.

So I tried acting like everything was normal, like everything was right, and I got so good at pretending I even started to believe it. And so many good things happened then, and I felt genuinely happy again – I felt invincible. So I went to see Nik, that day in the courtyard. I just wanted to apologize for the way I had acted – it wasn't his fault, after all. So I did, but he misunderstood what I meant and invited me to the ball. And, you know, for a moment I felt myself falling back down again, and saying yes, and then I could see everything. I saw myself with him at the ball, in my favorite dress, so in denial and so unhappy. And I saw him running off with another girl at the end of the night, and me alone again. I didn't want that. I didn't want that at all. So I said no. I thought, better be alone than be with someone who doesn't care about me.

I think that the whole reason why I didn't tell you about any of this is that I was embarrassed – I was so ashamed of myself, I felt so pathetic. I never wanted to block you out. And I'm so sorry I made you feel like this. Because, ironically, throughout all of this rubbish, there was always only one thing I was sure of – that our friendship is so precious to me, and I value it more than anything else, and _you_ are the most important thing to me and I wanted to protect that. I did it all wrong, of course. But I just want you to know I never wanted to hurt you in any way, and I'm horribly sorry if I did. I am."

The room was quiet again. I was breathless. I couldn't believe I had just said all that – but it had felt so good. I hadn't told any of this to anyone before – but it felt right to say them to George. I had laid everything on the table. Now the only thing I had left to do was to wait.

It took a few minutes before he spoke. But I was patient. I felt him grab my hand, wrapping his around it. I met his gaze.

"Has anyone ever told you you talk too much ?"

He was smiling – I rolled my eyes, trying not to smile too hard.

"I'm sorry too. I acted like a real prat. I was being a real Percy."

I laughed, shaking my head.

"But thank you for being so honest with me. It means a lot to me. But Addy… you know you don't have to embarrassed to tell me things, not ever. Whatever it is you may have done, or said, or thought – I can assure you I've done way worse. And I'll never laugh at you – maybe tease you a little bit, but deep down, I'm really _just_ there for you. I'll always be there for you. I care about you a lot, I really do. And I'm not good with words, and I probably just said that all wrong, but it's all true. You're my Addy. Never forget that."

He hadn't even finished his last sentence that I threw my arms around his neck, hugging him tightly.

"I'm sorry" I said again – it would never feel like enough.

"I'm sorry too" he whispered in my ear, his fingers in my hair.

My eyes burned from the tears, but I didn't care, not for one second. I had my best friend back. I had George back. Nothing had ever felt so right.


	19. vol I : chapter nineteen

_Welcome back everyone! I hope I didn't make you wait too long!_  
 _I think you'll like this chapter... Please tell me what you think in a review :)  
Also I'm introducing a new subplot in this chapter that I'm very excited about._  
 _Thank you for everything. I love you guys!_  
 _Enjoy x_

* * *

 **wildest dreams  
** VOLUME I

* * *

 **CHAPTER NINETEEN**

* * *

If the last previous days had been some of my worst at Hogwarts, the days that followed my conversation with George in the Astronomy Tower were probably some of the best. We had never been so in sync, so eager to spend time with one another. It was like we were trying to get back the time we had lost. Being so honest with each other had seemed to unlock some sort of understanding between us – I felt like I understood him a little more, that I knew him a little more, and I only liked him more. But my feelings didn't seem to scare me anymore – and when I thought about what Angelina had said, or even what he had said – _you're my Addy –_ I only found myself smiling brightly.

The whole castle buzzed with joy, excitement and laughter. The magic of Christmas seemed to have taken hold of everyone. All we did was play cards, nick food from the kitchens, or pull pranks on Slytherins. Even Peeves, the school poltergeist, was in a surprisingly good mood – he had wished us Merry Christmas when we had met him near the kitchens. He had always been very friendly to Fred and George – but that was surprisingly nice of him.

I woke up on Christmas Day feeling quite excited, but nervous about the day ahead – the ball was that night, after all. I had finally decided to go, even if I was going by myself – it suddenly seemed silly to miss such a big party just because I didn't have a date. I could still enjoy myself.

"Merry Christmas !" said Angelina, who was already awake.

Yawning, I sat down on my bed.

"Merry Christmas, Angie. Ooh, what have you got there ?"

She was putting on a pair of pair of earrings in the shape of small feathers.

"A gift from my parents. They're beautiful, aren't they ?"

"They look great on you" I nodded, smiling.

I looked down beside my bed and saw that I had a few presents too. Clapping my hands excitedly, I grabbed the first one, which was from Molly – a dark blue sweater with the letter 'A' on it. I smiled – she had promised to knit me a new one as the last one had tragically been lost – well, that's what I told her – the truth being that it had accidentally burned during the development of the Ton-Tongue Toffees last year. I immediately put it on, enjoying the soft fabric.

Fred and George had gotten me a new schoolbag – the one I had was in a such a state that I fearing it might rip everytime I carried it – and Angelina, Alicia and Katie a beautiful book about Quidditch. I didn't know from who the next present was from – a big box of fancy chocolate – until I read the name at the bottom of the card – but I couldn't believe it at first.

 _Dear Adelaide,_

 _Have a wonderful Christmas._

 _We hope that you are safe and happy._

 _Lots of love,_

 _Your mother and father_

I stared down at the card. It was so weird – 'your mother and father'. It was the first thing I was getting from them in ten years.

"Addy, are you okay ?"

I looked up at Angelina, who was frowning at me.

"I – yeah. It's just – it's from my parents."

"What ?"

She jumped from her bed to sit on mine, taking a look at the card. She looked shocked – I probably looked the same.

"Wow – that's unexpected."

"Why would they send this _now_ ?" I said, confused. "I don't understand."

"Maybe they finally realized their mistake."

I looked at Angelina – could that be the reason ? Did they suddenly wake up, and remembered they had a daughter ?

"How do you feel about that ?" she asked.

"I don't know" I shrugged. "It's nice, I guess."

"What did they send with the card ?"

"Chocolates."

She took the box in her hands, and read the label.

"They're from Belgium" she said. "What does the address on the envelope say ?"

"Brussels, Belgium" I read. "That doesn't make any sense. They're supposed to be in America."

"Maybe they decided to come back to Europe."

"Maybe" I nodded, biting my lip.

A part of me felt very excited about the idea of seeing them again – what would they look like ? Would they look like me ? Would they have American accents ? What would they think of me ? But then, I couldn't shake off the fact that they hadn't spoken or acknowledged me in ten years. They had just left me. Why would they ever come back ?

I shook my head, and put the card and the chocolates away. I wouldn't let that occupy my mind all day – I wanted to enjoy this Christmas as much as I could. I still had one present left – from my uncle. He had sent a few Weird Sisters tee-shirts for me and my friends – I gave one to Angelina and placed the other one on Alicia's bed for when she would wake up. He had also sent a brand new acoustic guitar.

"Brilliant !" I shouted as I unwrapped it. "He remembered I wanted to learn how to play."

"So you can join the band later ?" said Angelina with a smile.

"Of course. I was born to be a rock star, after all" I answered seriously.

I couldn't help it – I started to play, very badly of course, and sing and dance around the Common Room. I woke up all the other girls in the process, and Alicia kicked me out of the dormitory by throwing me one of her shoes. I ended up in the Common Room, laughing hysterically.

"What the bloody hell is that ?"

Fred was pointing the guitar I was holding. He was sitting in one of the couches with George, already eating some Cauldron Cakes that he had probably gotten as a gift – they were both wearing new knitted sweaters.

"Pretty cool, huh ?" I said, strumming the strings.

"Since when do you play guitar ?" laughed George.

"I don't" I shrugged, sitting down beside them. "But I will learn."

"And annoy us to death with it ?" sighed Fred.

He and George chuckled. I shook my head, glaring at them.

"You may be laughing now, but when I'm the best guitar player the world has ever known, and I'm rich and famous – who's gonna laugh then ?"

"Can't wait to see that" said George with a smirk.

I debated them hitting them both in the chest with the head of the instrument, but I didn't want to break it after only owning it for ten minutes.

"Oh – thanks for the bag. I really needed a new one."

"We know" they answered, smiling.

"And thanks for the cauldron" added George.

"Yeah, it's brilliant."

"Glad you like it" I said.

"Oi, you three ! Want to get breakfast ?"

I turned to see Angelina, her head poking from the stairs leading to the dormitory.

"YES !" I shouted, standing up. "I'm famished."

"You're always famished" said George.

"I could do with some porridge" nodded Fred.

"And eggs" added George.

"And beans."

"And toasts."

"Yep, coming !"

I laughed as I got back upstairs to get changed. The Great Hall was very busy that morning – everyone was showing the others the presents they had gotten, and of course, everyone was talking about the ball. As I was eating my cereals, I got an owl from Dumbledore telling me my uncle would get here around 7 pm, an hour before the ball started. I was thrilled at the idea of seeing him again – I felt like there were so many things I wanted to tell him.

After spending the whole morning trying to figure out how to play my new guitar, I agreed the follow the others outside after lunch. We all dressed warmly, and started walking around the park – but it didn't take long before our nice stroll turned into a huge snowball fight – even Ron and Harry joined us at some point.

After about an hour of running around, throwing snowballs and laughing until I cried, I took advantage of the fact that Fred and Angelina were busy trying to bury each other in the snow and that George was ferociously attacking Ron while he talked to Harry to lay down in the snow, trying to catch my breath. I was blinded by the bright sky – so I closed my eyes, unable to stop smiling.

"Well, I think Addy's dead" said a voice.

I opened one eye to see George standing next to me, grinning from ear to ear. His cheeks were red from the cold, and his hat was crooked on his head – I felt my heart skip a beat.

"Oh, no, never mind" he said, looking over his shoulder.

But Harry and Ron were deep in conversation, and I couldn't even see Fred and Angelina anymore. I let out a laugh as George jumped in the snow and laid down next to me.

"This is comfortable."

"I know. I never, ever want to move again" I said.

"That might get complicated. What are you going to eat ? How are you going to go to the loo ?"

I snickered, throwing some snow at his face. He let out a scream, and I bursted out laughing as he stood up, spitting the snow out of his mouth.

"That wasn't very nice" he said.

"That's because I'm not nice" I replied, shrugging, trying not to laugh.

"I think you deserve a punishment."

I frowned, and before I could register what he was going to do, I felt him pick me up from the ground. I let out a scream, but he was too fast and stronger than me – he threw me over his shoulder and started to walk towards the lake.

"GEORGE, PUT ME DOWN !" I shouted.

"No."

I had no choice but to grab his neck if I didn't want to fall head first on the ground – and I tried really hard to ignore the fact that my face was so close to his.

"George, please. Where are you taking me ?"

"You'll see."

I took me a few seconds, but I managed to strech out my neck far enough to see that he was carrying me towards the lake – the frozen lake.

"George, put me down."

But he kept laughing, and didn't even answer me. I tried to struggle, but he was holding me tightly.

"GEORGE. PLEASE."

"On only one condition" I heard him say.

"What ?"

There was a short silence.

"Come with me to the ball."

I stopped breathing, staring at the back of his head. I instantly knew what I wanted to say, but for a few seconds, it was like I couldn't speak. I smiled.

"Okay."

"I'm not sure I heard you" he said, and I knew he was smiling too.

"I said okay ! I will !" I chuckled.

"You will what ?"

"George Weasley, I will go to the Yule Ball with you."

Half a second later, I was laying face down in the snow. I groaned.

"Thanks for the soft landing."

"You didn't ask for a soft landing."

He offered me his hand and pulled me back up. I shook the snow off my coat and my hair, and looked at him. He seemed very happy with himself, which half made me want to smile even harder and half made me want to roll my eyes.

* * *

 _FINALLY, right ? :)_


	20. vol I : chapter twenty

_Good morning everyone!_  
 _This chapter is the first part of everyone's favorite event - the Yule Ball!_  
 _I'm very excited to share the next few chapters with you. They are some of my favorites - this one included._  
 _I hope you like it. And thank you for all the lovely reviews. Sending you all lots of love!_  
 _Enjoy ! x_

* * *

 **wildest dreams  
** VOLUME I **  
**

* * *

 **CHAPTER TWENTY**

* * *

It was almost six when I got back to the Gryffindor Tower. George had walked with me all the way back – he asked me what color my dress was, pretending he needed his bowtie to match, but I refused to spill the beans. I told him that black would work just fine. I also told him about my parents writing to me, which he too found very strange. It felt so good to be able to talk to him about everything again.

When I entered the dormitory, all the girls were already dressed. I stood in the doorway, still in my jeans and winter coat, soaked because of the snow.

"Blimey, Addy, it's nearly six !" sighed Angelina.

"I still have plenty of time" I quickly said. "You both look amazing."

They did – I couldn't stop admiring them. Angelina's dress suited her perfectly, as Alicia had said. She was wearing purple earrings to match her dress, and had let her dark hair down – but was in the process of making it slightly wavy.

I had been with Alicia when she had bought her dress – I remembered the shiny, black texture of the silk, stopping just below her knees. She was wearing a pair of black high heels, decorated with small diamonds, and had put her hair up in a complex bun.

It was weird to see them all dressed up like this, but it was more exciting than anything else.

"Seriously – Fred and Andrew are going to _faint_ when they see you."

They laughed, and I started to take off my scarf, hat and coat, hanging them next to the boiler in the center of the room. I couldn't stop smiling – I was over the moon. I grabbed my towel, planning to get a nice, hot shower before getting ready.

"What are you all smiling about ?" asked Angelina.

I looked up – she was staring at me suspiciously.

"Me ? Nothing" I shrugged.

"I don't believe you for one second" she said.

"What happened ?" insisted Alicia.

"I don't know what you two are talking about – nothing happened. It's Christmas, is all."

"C'mon, spit it out !" said Alicia.

"If you don't tell us, I swear I'm going to make you" added Angelina.

I stared at them, unable to get my stupid smile off my face. Sighing, I raised my hands in surrender.

"All right, all right ! I'll tell you !"

"Now, Addy !"

"… George asked me to the ball."

They both screamed so loudly that I nearly dropped my towel.

"I KNEW IT !" shouted Alicia.

"FINALLY !" yelled Angelina.

They both jumped on my bed, asking for the details. I told them everything, getting more and more excited as I recalled it.

"I'm glad he finally listened to me" said Angelina when I was done.

"What do you mean ?" I asked, frowning.

"Well – I told him he should stop being a wuss and invite you."

"You did what ?!" I yelled.

Angelina chuckled as I stared at her with wide eyes.

"Don't be mad, Addy. He wanted to ask you – Fred told me that he did. I don't know what took him so long. I got tired of seeing you wait around for him to finally gather the guts."

"Oh…"

I felt myself blushing again. George had told Fred that he wanted to ask me – so his invitation wasn't an impulsive decision. He had been thinking about it for some time. The thought made me feel… hopeful. For the first time, I found myself wondering – _what if ?_ My heart was suddenly racing in my chest.

"Addy, I'm so happy for you !" said Alicia.

"Me too" I smiled. "I like him."

Angelina raised an eyebrow.

"All right, I like him a lot !" I laughed.

"You more than _like_ him. But that's not our priority. Our priority, now, is to get you dressed and sorted, so you can take his breath away."

"So he can't take his eyes off you" nodded Alicia.

"Well, let's not get ahead of ourselves" I muttered.

"I don't want to hear it ! Shower, go !"

They hurried me off into the bathroom, where I took my time to take a hot shower and carefully wash my hair. I hadn't cut it all summer, and it now reached halfway down my back. Angelina and Alicia insisted to take care of it when I came out of the bathroom, and I let them, knowing I wasn't really good at all this stuff and that trying to do my hair and makeup myself would probably result in a complete disaster. When they were done, I slipped into my dress, put on my low, black heels, and I was ready.

I realized it was almost 6:50 pm, and I had to meet my uncle and his band at the gate at 7:00, so I told Angelina and Alicia to not wait for me and quickly left the dormitory. Fortunately, the Common Room was almost empty, as everyone was getting ready for the ball – so I was able to walk all the way to the front door undisturbed. I caught a sight of myself in the mirror on the way, and had to stop to look at my reflection – I could barely recognize myself.

My usually tangled hair was now smoothly descending down my shoulders in soft waves, with two small braids starting at my temples and meeting at the back of head. Alicia had put dark eyeshadow and mascara on my eyes. My lipstick matched the color of my dress, who was flowing around me. My uncle had truly picked the perfect one. I couldn't believe it was me – and when a portrait nearby cleared his throat, I quickly walked away, embarrassed.

There were two carriages waiting for me outside – one for me and one for the equipment – I jumped in one, and it started making its way down to the gate. The carriage seemed to be enveloped in some sort of warming spell, because I couldn't feel the cold at all, even in my light dress. I smiled – Dumbledore really thought of everything. About ten minutes later, the carriage stopped next to the gate. I let out a scream when I saw that my uncle and the rest of the band were already there. Nearly breaking my neck in the process, I jumped out of the carriage and rushed to them.

"Merry Christmas !" I shouted, grinning broadly.

"Addy !" they all said.

"Look at you !" exclaimed Kirley, the lead guitar.

"You look like a million Galleons, kiddo" said Gideon, who played the bagpipes.

They all nodded in agreement, and I brushed it off with a wave.

"What, this old rag ?" I joked, pointing my dress.

"I knew it would suit you perfectly" said my uncle with a wink.

"Yeah, that's great and all, but I'm freezing my arse off here. Can you open this gate ?" grumbled Merton, the cello player.

"Right" I laughed. "Sorry."

I had been so excited to see them all again that I had forgotten about the gate. I was worried that I had forgotten the word Dumbledore had written on the parchment – but it came back to me quickly.

"Raspberry lollipop" I said, looking up at the gate.

"What did she say ?" muttered Herman.

"It's the password, you dumbo" sighed Kirley.

I chuckled as the gate opened for them – I hugged all of them, smiling. It always felt so good to be around them – they were like my family, after all. I had grown up with all of them around – except for Donaghan, who had joined only a few years ago after the previous bass player had quit the band to go live in Asia with his new wife.

I helped them getting all the instruments and equipment in one of the carriages, asking them about the latest news – Heathcote had gone back with his old girlfriend from Hogwarts and Orsino had broke his arm playing the drums a little too hard at a concert in Paris. I laughed as they told me about their adventures. Then, we all jumped into the other carriage, sighing out of relief when its warmth envelopped us. It was a little cramped with the nine of us in there – but I didn't mind.

"So, Myron told us you were going solo to the ball" said Gideon.

"I don't get it" said Donaghan. "If I was your age…"

"Watch it, Tremlett" said my uncle, eyebrows raised.

"I'm just saying" he shrugged.

I chuckled as my uncle glared at him menacingly.

"I would have loved to go to the ball with you, Don – I mean, if only you were a few decades younger…"

"Oi !"

"She got you there, Tremlett" chuckled Heathcote.

"You don't mind too much, kiddo ?" asked Gideon.

"There's nothing to be ashamed of. I mean, you'll probably have more fun that way" said Kirley.

I bit my lip. George had only invited me a few hours ago – I hadn't been able to write to my uncle about it. I blushed slightly at the memory.

"Yeah… Er – about that…"

I was very aware of the huge grin on my face, and when I lifted my eyes to meet theirs, they were all staring back.

"Oh, I know that smile" muttered my uncle.

He was smirking, like he already knew what I was going to say. He knew me too well.

"Well, spit it out !" insisted Kirley, who had never been known to be patient.

I allowed myself a few more seconds of simply grinning at them before I spoke.

"Someone invited me today. And I said yes."

The carriage broke into cheer – we were still far away from the castle, but the eight of them were so loud that I was certain it would be possible to hear them from the Great Hall. I laughed as they applauded, whistled and ruffled my hair – which, for the first time, I objected to brutally as they had been so carefully styled by Angelina.

"Who's the lucky bloke ?" asked Merton.

"George Weasley" I replied, blushing.

"Ha ! I knew it" said my uncle.

"Isn't he one of those prankster twins ?" asked Orsino.

"Tall, ginger, always looking for trouble ?" added Heathcote.

"Yeah. That's George" I laughed.

"I remember him. Straight bloke" nodded Gideon.

"You two are snogging yet ?" asked Kirley.

I blushed furiously – thankfully, the carriage was dark and I hoped no one had seen it.

"No ! Blimey, no, we're just friends" I muttered.

"Right" snickered Kirley.

I bent forward and pushed his hat onto his nose. He cried out as the others chuckled. I felt as uncomfortable as amused, but I was certainly relieved when Herman changed the subject to ask about the Tournament. I starting telling them about the First Task when the carriage suddenly stopped. I took a look outside – we had gone around the front door, to a secret entrance to the Great Hall. Dumbledore had told me there would be a door there, which would lead to the back of the stage.

We got out of the carriage, grabbed the gear and walked there. I could see that the stage had been placed where the teachers' table usually was. I could already hear people talking in the Great Hall. I wanted to peak through the curtain to see how it all looked – I was certain Dumbledore had made sure to decorate the room appropriately – but then, I thought it would ruin the surprise, so I decided to wait.

"We'll be fine from here, Pancakes" said my uncle, walking to me.

"You sure ?"

"Of course."

I nodded, looking around to make sure everything was all right – I had promised Dumbledore, after all.

"Oh ! Thank you _so much_ for the guitar !"

"Do you like it ?"

"I love it !"

"I'm glad. In a few years you can replace Kirley – we've been trying to come up with an excuse to get rid of him."

"Hey, I heard that !" shouted Kirley, a few meters away.

We laughed – and I suddenly remembered about the card from my parents. If anyone would know something about that, it would my uncle.

"I wanted to ask you…" I started quietly.

"What is it ?" he frowned.

"I got a card this morning. From… from my parents."

He observed me for a few seconds, silent.

"They really sent it ?"

"What do you mean ?" I asked, confused.

Uncle Myron sighed softly, running a hand through his messy hair.

"I wasn't planning on telling you, just because I thought they would never –"

"On telling me _what_ ?"

I could feel my heart beat fast – I strangely apprehending what Myron would tell me.

"You know how we were touring in America ?"

I nodded.

"Well – it's weird, actually. We were in Boston, and we went to eat at this restaurant that someone had recommended to us – and I saw Connor there. Your Dad."

It felt like my heart had just stopped. _Connor. Your Dad._ How weird that sounded.

"What was he doing there ?" I asked faintly.

"He works there. Owns the bloody place."

I raised my eyebrows in surprise.

"I know – bloody weird coincidence. But anyway, we talked, and things got a little heated…"

"How ?"

"Well, he asked me about you, Addy."

"And ?"

"And I told him that if he wanted to know how you were, he should come and see for himself. He didn't know what to say, of course. So I told him that he was a git, and when he tried to defend himself, I told him that if he wasn't a prat, he would at least send a Christmas card. So he told me that 'he would do just that' – but I honestly didn't believe him."

I was speechless. It was so weird to hear him talk about my father like that – he suddenly was a real person, not just a shadow, not just a ghost.

"I'm sorry, Pancakes."

"You don't have to be sorry" I replied.

"I do. You're my responsibility. I just want to protect you from all that rubbish."

"You're doing the best you can, I know that. It's not your fault they don't want me."

He looked at me carefully before pulling me into a hug. I hugged him tightly, trying not to start crying.

"You know what makes me happy about all that ?" he said quietly.

"What ?"

"The fact that I got you all for myself."

I snickered, shaking my head.

"It's true. They don't know what they're missing out on."

"Thank you, Uncle Myron."

"Now, don't let these idiots ruin your night, all right ?"

He pushed me gently, chasing a few strands of hair from my face.

"You should join your friends. Go have fun."

I remembered the others – I remembered George, who was certainly waiting for me now – _oh, Merlin_. I suddenly felt sick. My stomach stirred with apprehension. My uncle obviously saw my distress, because he took both my hands and smiled kindly at me.

"Hey, stop worrying. It's going to be great. You look beautiful. That boy will go all mental when he sees you."

I smiled nervously.

"What if I ruin everything ? What if I trip on someone else's dress ? What if accidentally get drunk and puke all over –"

"Addy. You'll be fine. Just relax and have fun. Besides, you won't be alone."

"Yeah, well – I'm pretty sure George would just die of laughter if I did any of those things."

"He better not. I'll be watching."

I chuckled, and he pulled me into a hug.

"Just breathe. Breathe, and dance your arse off."

I hugged him back tightly, laughing.

"All right. Better go. I'll see you after the concert, won't I ?"

He nodded, and after another hug, I ran back to the carriage who brought me back to the front door, trying to chase away the image of my father promising that _he would do just that._


	21. vol I : chapter twenty-one

_Hello everyone! Here is the second part of the Yule Ball - yep, it's far from over!_  
 _I hope you guys will like it !  
_ _Thank you for all the great reviews, please keep writing to me your predictions and suggestions :)  
_ _Enjoy x_

 _(PS: Happy Canada Day to all my fellow Canadians!)_

* * *

 **wildest dreams  
** VOLUME I **  
**

* * *

 **CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE**

* * *

The entrance hall was filled with students from all the schools – everyone looked wonderful. All the boys were wearing their classiest robes, and all the girls were wearing their prettiest dresses. I looked around me as I searched for George and the others, smiling brightly.

"There she is !" I heard Angelina say.

I turned around and finally spotted the twins and Angelina, who were waving at me. I rushed to them, grinning.

"Addy, finally !" said Angelina.

"Where have you been ?" asked Fred, eyes narrowed.

He was holding Angelina's arm, who looked radiant at his side. I shrugged.

"You'll see."

"Addy, what are you up to ?" asked Angelina.

"I told you – you'll see" I smiled.

"Well, I must say – you clean up nice, Adelaide."

I rolled my eyes.

"Thank you, Frederick" I replied sarcastically.

"I'm serious – wouldn't you agree, dear brother ?"

We all turned to George, who I now realized had been silent this whole time – which was quite out of the ordinary for him. He was staring at me, and I felt my heart skip a beat, and my cheeks turning a bright shade of red. Angelina gave him a nudge, and only then did he seem to start breathing again.

"What ? What is it ?"

"There it is. Poor Georgie's officially gone mad. And it's all your fault, Adelaide" said Fred.

"Oh, bugger off."

I stared at George in surprise – it was rare, after all, that _we_ spoke at the same time. We bursted out laughing after a few seconds.

"You are disgusting, both of you. C'mon, Angelina, I need a drink – or ten" sighed Fred.

Angelina offered me a smile before Fred pulled her towards the Great Hall – I watched them walk away, arm in arm. They looked adorable. I also saw Alicia and Andrew, and then Lee and his date – a Hufflepuff from our Charms class that looked amazing in her pale pink dress.

"Fred's right though – you look really pretty. Gorgeous, I mean."

"Thank you Georgie – you look very handsome yourself."

It was true – he was wearing his fanciest dress robes, his nicest shoes, and had even managed to make his hair look tamed. A purple bowtie completed the whole thing, of course. Purple had always been his color. He grinned and offered me his arm.

"Shall we ?"

I took his arm, feeling my heart pound hard in my chest. Inhaling deeply, we made our way into the Great Hall. I smiled – I was determined to make the most of this night. I could worry about all the rest later.

"Woah" I whispered as we entered the room.

I had never seen the Great Hall looked so beautiful – the walls were covered in some sort of silvery, sparkling frost, and hundreds of garlands of mistletoe and ivy were hanging from the ceiling where a thousand stars shone brightly in the darkness of the black sky. It was breathtaking. I glanced at George, and we shared an excited grin. The knot in my stomach had vanished. For some reason, at that moment, I had a feeling it would be a great, memorable night.

We made our way to Fred and Angelina, who were standing with the rest of the students – we had to wait for the champions to come in before sitting down.

"Guess who's here" grinned Fred when we reached them.

He pointed to the judge's table – there sat the three school directors, Ludo Bagman – who looked absolutely ridiculous, in my opinion – and, much to our surprise, Percy.

"What is he doing here ?" I asked, surprised.

"I have no idea, but we better go and ask" said George.

We walked to the big table at the top of the hall. The twins were grinning from ear to ear – I knew how much they liked teasing Percy. I still remembered when they had found out he had a girlfriend at the end of our fourth year. They couldn't shut up about it. When we reached Percy, he seemed to peck his lips a little.

"Brother !" the twins said in unison.

"Missed us too much ?" said George.

"We definitely miss you" nodded Fred. "There's nobody around anymore to try and stop us from doing things and then fail miserably to do so."

"Fred. George" said Percy politely. "I'll have you know I have been promoted."

"Promoted ? To what ?" asked George, chuckling.

"We thought being appointed Head Boy was the 'highest honor there is'" added Fred, imitating Percy's voice.

The latter became slightly red in the neck, but quickly straightened up.

"I am now Mr. Crouch's personal assistant, and I'm representing him" he said proudly.

Fred and George whistled and I couldn't hold back a smile.

"Wow. You must be proud" said George.

"Congratulations, Mr. Weatherby" said Fred.

I snorted loudly, but quickly tried to hide my laughter by coughing. Angelina glanced at me, smirking. Fred had probably told her the story. Percy's neck was now a deep shade of red.

"Sorry" I apologized with a smile. "I'm very happy for you, Percy."

"Well, thank you, Adelaide."

I held back a groan – Percy had never agreed to call me Addy, no matter how many times I had told him to. But that was just Percy. He was so different from the twins that I sometimes wondered how they could be siblings.

Everyone in the Great Hall suddenly started clapping – we turned to see that the champions were making their way to the top table, walking in pairs with their partners. Fleur looked stunning, as usual, holding hands with a Ravenclaw I didn't know, Cedric was smiling shyly next to Cho Chang, who was in the Ravenclaw Quidditch Team, Harry looked every bit terrified next to Parvati Patil, and Krum held his head up high, holding the arm of his date – Hermione, who looked prettier than ever in her pale blue dress.

"Is that… ?" mumbled George.

"Is that _Hermione_ ?" said Fred, wide-eyed.

"With _Krum_ ?!"

"Looks like it" smiled Angelina.

"Score, Hermione !" I laughed, and whistled as they passed next to us.

After the champions had passed, we sat down at the closest table – Lee, his date, Alicia and Andrew joined us. We all started eating, exchanging thoughts about how everyone was dressed and what the rest of the night would be like – I knew a little about it, of course, but I held my tongue. I wanted it to be a surprise for everyone.

I was finishing eating my Yorkshire Pudding when Dumbledore stood up and invited everyone to do the same. I grinned broadly, knowing what was coming. I had seen the band play more times than I could count – but I still loved it everytime. George eyed me curiously, and I only winked at him. Dumbledore then swooped all the tables to the edges of the room, and made the stage appear.

"Ooh, looks like there will be a concert !" said Alicia excitedly.

"I wonder who it's going to be" said Lee.

As soon as he finished his sentence, my uncle, Kirley, Heathcote, Gideon, Donaghan, Herman, Merton and Orsino all ran on stage as the crowd broke into cheer and applause.

"YES !" screamed Lee, who I knew was a fan of the band.

"Did you know about this ?" asked Angelina.

"Maybe I did" I shrugged.

"Of course – _that_ was your little secret" said George.

I smiled, and Fred nearly jumped on me to ruffle my hair, screaming excitedly.

"Oi, Fred !" I cried out.

"C'mon, let's dance !" he shouted, grabbing Angelina's hand.

The Weird Sisters had started their concert with a slow, nostalgic tune – I waved at my uncle, who winked at me. I knew he couldn't wait to play something a little bit more upbeat – that was his favorite thing.

I watched happily as the champions and a few other couples danced to the mournful notes – I didn't mind that George hadn't invited me to go. I didn't really like that kind of dancing, and it was more entertaining to watch the others try and dance correctly than anything else. We spent the entire song laughing.

"Alright, Hogwarts !" shouted my uncle from the stage. "Are you ready for some _real_ music ?"

I grinned as the crowd cheered even more enthusiastically than before.

"I said _are you ready_ ? ARE YOU READY ?"

The band then started playing one of their most famous songs – and my favorite.

"OH, I LOVE THIS SONG !" I screamed.

I grabbed George's arm and pulled him on the dance floor to join Fred and Angelina. We started dancing like we were going mad, so much that people started to back away from us, probably out of fear of getting hit in the head by one of our limbs. We would jump in the air, wave our arms, George even made me spin around so fast I thought my head would explode - and I couldn't stop laughing.

After a few songs, completely exhausted, we decided to go and grab some Butterbeers.

"I can't feel my feet !" said Angelina as we sat down.

"Me neither" I sighed.

"Well, take your shoes off" shrugged Fred.

"I can't _take my shoes off,_ Fred" said Angelina.

"Why not ?"

"Because this is a ball !"

"So what ?"

I glanced at George – he looked as amused by them as me.

"Haven't even started snogging and they're already fighting like an old couple" he said.

"I wonder when that is going start happening" I said with a smile.

"The snogging ?"

"Yeah."

"Hm… tonight."

I raised an eyebrow.

"That's an awfully confident answer. You sure of that, Weasley ?"

"I am" he nodded.

"Very well. Want to bet on it ?" I smirked.

George stared at me, eyes narrowed.

"I had sworn I would never gamble again…"

"Yeah, right" I snickered.

" _But"_ he said with a smile. "I am willing to make an exception for you."

"Good. Let's say… 2 sickles."

"I have a better idea."

His eyes twinkled.

"What ?"

"A date."

It took every muscle in my body to refrain me from smiling like a child.

"A date ?" I repeated.

"A date" he nodded. "You and me."

I stared at him for a few seconds, trying to determine if he was joking or not. He had this little smirk on his lips, of course – but that could mean anything. I knew I wanted to say yes – my heart was beating fast. Was this the proof I had been waiting for ? I wasn't sure what to make of it. I took in a deep breath. _Leap of faith_.

"Deal" I said, offering him my hand.

He shook it, smiling broadly. I felt like my head was above the clouds. George Weasley had just asked me on a date. Well, kind of. I had to lose the bet first. I really didn't like losing – anyone who had played Exploding Snap with me knew that – but now, there was one thing I was sure of – I really, _really_ wanted Fred and Angelina to kiss tonight.


	22. vol I : chapter twenty-two

_Hello everyone!_  
 _Here is the new chapter, which concludes the Yule Ball._  
 _It's a little short, but I have a feeling you guys are still going to love it... :)_  
 _Enjoy ! x_

* * *

 **wildest dreams  
** VOLUME I

* * *

 **CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO**

* * *

A few Butterbeers, three songs and an extremely awkward conversation with a fifth year later – he had asked me if I could bring him backstage to meet the band since I knew them – I sat down at a table with Angelina, staring at the twins who were trying to catch Ludo Bagman's attention. I was about to ask her if she wanted to get some air when she sighed loudly.

"What is it ?" I asked.

She shrugged. But I knew Angelina better – I could see that something was upsetting her.

"Did Fred say something ?" I insisted.

She shook her head, sighing loudly again.

"No, he didn't say anything, that's the problem."

I frowned, confused. Angelina glanced at me, looking quite distressed.

"It's just – he's been _so_ nice !"

"How is that a problem ?" I said, chuckling.

"Because it's _Fred_. And, I don't know, I just feel very… very…"

"Smitten ?"

She sighed again, and I laughed, pulling her into a hug.

"I don't know what to do, Addy" she muttered.

"You should snog him" I replied seriously.

I felt Angelina's shake as she laughed. I pushed her gently, smiling.

"I'm serious. I know you want to."

"Yeah, but does _he_ want to ?"

"Of course he does, Angie. And it shouldn't matter. You should do what you want to do, and not overthink it. You're a Gryffindor, for Godric's sake."

"You're probably right."

An idea suddenly popped into my head. I grinned.

"You know what ? Go ask him to dance. I'll get you the perfect background music."

Before she could answer, I stood up and ran next to the stage where the band was still playing. I waited until they finished their song and jumped on stage before they could start the next one. Running to my uncle, I stood on tip-toe to reach his ear.

"Can you do me a favor ?" I asked.

He nodded.

"Of course."

" _Magic Works_ ?"

He grinned, and nodded again. I thanked him with a smile and jumped off the stage. George was there, frowning at me.

"What are you plotting ?"

I simply smiled as Kirley started playing the familiar notes on his guitar.

"This one is going out to all the lovers out there" said my uncle in his microphone. "Hold each other tight and keep each other warm."

I spotted Fred and Angelina on the dance floor, biting my lip. As my uncle started to sing, I saw that they danced slowly, close to each other, Fred's arm around Angelina's waist. I caught Angelina's eyes – she smiled shyly. I chuckled, very satisfied with myself. If this didn't work, I didn't know what would.

"Looks like you're trying really hard to lose your bet" said George.

"I don't know what you're talking about" I replied in an innocent tone.

He shook his head, laughing. I kept looking at Fred and Angelina, hoping to see the long-awaited kiss, but I was soon distracted by George who took my hand. I glanced at him, frowning, and before I knew it, he was dragging me on the dance floor.

"Oh, no, no, George…" I muttered.

"C'mon. I'm an excellent dancer."

"But I'm not."

"I don't care."

He was smiling that beautiful smile – and I knew I couldn't say no. I never could. Groaning, I let him guide me through the crowd. We stopped in the middle, and he slid his arm across my waist, raising my right hand with his. I shook my head, very aware of the bright color of my cheeks, as we slowly started dancing. I felt horribly awkward – but George's confidence was enough for both of us, and soon I felt comfortable enough to get slightly closer to him. We had never been that close, and his hands had certainly never touched me like that – but it felt nice, very nice. I lifted my eyes to meet his – as he was considerably taller than me – and we both bursted out laughing. If it was of awkwardness or of relief we both felt the same way, I wasn't sure. When I finally calmed down, I put my head on his chest, enjoying the music and the feeling of him. I thought back at what Angelina had said – _it makes sense._ And at that moment, it really did.

The song, who had slowed down, suddenly picked up in rhythm again as my uncle sang the chorus – and I suddenly saw Fred and Angelina, kissing passionately.

"George" I said, raising my head.

"Hm ?"

"Look at your brother."

He glanced around, and when his eyes finally fell on Fred, his mouth broke into a huge grin.

"Well, it was about time" he said.

"I know" I nodded. "Can't wait to see how that will play out."

"Oh, I give them a month."

I smacked him on the chest, shaking my head.

"Well, looks like you lost" he chuckled.

"Looks like I did" I said.

"I promise it won't be too bad. I was thinking, the Hog's Head, get some black pudding – I know how much you love that – with maybe Snape… or a few Skrewts… And, of course, Celestina Warbeck in the background."

"That sounds… absolutely terrible" I laughed.

"Oh, it will be."

We laughed, and the song ended. I made a thumbs up at my uncle to thank him. We got off the dance floor, and as we were about to go and get something to drink, I saw Angelina rush towards us. Fred was following closely, a smirk on his lips.

"Hey, how was –"

I didn't even hate time to finish my sentence that Angelina grabbed me by the arm to lead me outside the Great Hall. We stopped near the door. She looked out of breath, and absolutely delighted.

"Did you _see_ that ?" she said.

"I don't know how I could've missed it" I chuckled.

"I can't believe that happened !" she shrieked.

"ANGIE !" shouted a voice.

We turned to see Alicia and Melinda running towards us.

"I saw you snogging Fred !" said Alicia.

"You two looked absolutely adorable. Did you kiss him or did he ?" asked Melinda.

"He did" replied Angelina, blushing.

"Finally !" laughed Alicia. "C'mon, tell us everything !"

Angelina then told them everything – how Fred had acted all night, and that I encouraged her to make a move, and how he had kissed her during the song. I was grinning – George was right. It was about time. I couldn't wait to see the rest of their story unfold. I was certain it would be good. Alicia then told us that Andrew had kissed her too, but that his breath smelled too much of those Onion canapés he had eaten at dinner.

It was soon midnight, and when the band announced they were leaving, I rushed to the stage to say goodbye.

"You guys were amazing, as usual" I said.

"Thanks, kiddo" said Gideon.

"You looked like you were having fun" smirked my uncle.

"Yeah, didn't I see you snogging someone ?"

"That wasn't me, Herman. It was Fred, George's brother, and Angelina, my friend."

"I guess you just look like her…"

"Her hair is black. Mine is blonde."

But Herman just shrugged. I shook my head, laughing, and turned to my uncle.

"You'll write to me, won't you ?"

"Of course, Pancakes. You better do the same."

"I promise."

I hugged him tightly, and after they put everything back in the carriages, they disappeared into the night. Nostalgic, but still feeling quite happy, I ran back to the girls and we started making our way up to the Gryffindor Tower. I really didn't feel like sleeping, so we stayed up in the Common Room for a little while with the boys, discussing our night. I watched Fred and Angelina as they sat down next to each other, holding hands. I was so happy for them.

It was almost two in the morning when Lee fell asleep on the couch.

"Maybe we should go to bed" said Angelina.

"We should" nodded Lee, yawning as Alicia woke him up.

"Oh, I feel like I'm going to sleep all day tomorrow" I smiled as I stretched.

"Hey, we should play Quidditch tomorrow" suggested Fred.

"Yeah, I bet McGonagall would agree to let us play again" said George.

We all agreed, and soon it was settled that we should go and play Quidditch the next day – in the afternoon, of course, as we all planned to sleep late. We all stood up, making our way to the stairs.

"All right ! Goodnight, ladies" said Lee, disappearing up the stairs.

"Goodnight, boys" said Alicia.

Fred and Angelina exchanged a long look before parting, and I followed the girls up the stairs, smiling softly.

"Addy" I heard someone say.

I turned around, and saw that George had stayed behind.

"Can you come here for a second ?"

I frowned. Fred was nowhere in sight – only Alicia, who had been climbing the stairs before me, turned around. What could he want ?

"I'll be there in a minute" I said to Alicia.

She only smiled, and disappeared. I came down the stairs and walked to George, who looked concerned.

"What is it ?" I asked.

He didn't answer. I stared at him, and he stared at me. I didn't really know what it was – maybe it was the way his eyes were shining in the dim light of the room, or the way his bowtie was slightly crooked, but I felt my heartbeat fasten.

"George ?" I said faintly.

It was like the whole word had stopped – there was only me and him, and the defeaning silence.

"Are you –"

His lips crashed upon mine.

* * *

 _OMG!  
Please review and let me know what you think !_


	23. vol I : chapter twenty-three

Hello everyone!  
I want to thank you all so much for the amazing response on the last chapter!  
You guys are amazing! I am so happy that you are there to read this story and that you enjoy it.  
Now I think you guys were anxious to see what is going to happen after that first kiss - woohoo ! - so here it is.  
I hope you like it - please keep writing to me your impressions, predictions and suggestions.  
Enjoy :) x

* * *

 **wildest dreams  
** VOLUME I

* * *

 **CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE**

* * *

"Oh, bugger – _sorry._ "

It was only then, after what seemed like no time at all and forever at the same time, that I felt his lips leave mine. I turned around, breathless, to see none other than Neville Longbottom, his shoes thrown around his neck, apologizing and blushing profusely as he replaced the stack of books he had seemingly run into. I stared at him, feeling a little hazy, as he quickly ran up the stairs to his dormitories, still mumbling 'sorry, sorry, sorry'.

I was then aware of the fact that George's arms were wrapped around me, his face at approximately two inches from mine. One of his hands was on my waist, the other in my hair – and mine rested on his chest. The room was silent. The only thing I could hear was the sound of my own breathing. I looked up at him, meeting his gaze, asking him – did _this_ really happen, or did I imagine it ?

"You have no idea for how long I've wanted to do that" he whispered.

I shook my head. It was real, then. George had kissed me. And I had kissed him back – very enthusiastically. I couldn't help it – I smiled.

"You're such a cliché" I answered.

He chuckled. I stood on tip-toe, wrapping my arms around his neck, and did something mad – I kissed him again. I couldn't believe what was happening, what I was doing – but it felt so good. I never wanted it to stop.

"Addy" he whispered against my lips.

"What ?"

I reluctantly pulled away from him, frowning. He took my hands in his, stroking them softly.

"What I wanted to say is that… I like you."

"I think you made that very obvious" I replied, raising my eyebrows.

"I mean – I _like_ you. A lot. I want to make this work."

I smiled, slowly shaking my head.

"Me too. I like you a lot too, George Weasley. "

Merlin, that felt good. He grinned.

"Wicked" he whispered, before pulling me into another kiss _._

We sat down on the couches again, and talked, and laughed, and kissed. It had only been minutes, but already knew that I could never get tired of this. It felt like nothing I had ever felt before – it was explosive, it was magnificent. It was _right._

"Maybe we should go to bed" I said after a while.

"Why ?"

"Because we need to get up for Quidditch tomorrow."

"I don't want to get up for Quidditch. I want to keep kissing you."

I chuckled, stealing him a quick kiss.

"George, you have all life to kiss me now."

"I do ?"

I smacked him on the chest as he grinned broadly.

"You do if you get that stupid smile off your face" I smirked.

"You love my stupid smile."

"I do."

We laughed, and he walked with me to the stairs leading up to my dormitory. I held his hands, not really wanting to let go.

"I'll see you tomorrow" I said softly.

He nodded, and gave me one last kiss before he let go of my hands and made his way to the other flight of stairs.

"Can't wait for our date" he said.

I laughed as he disappeared up the stairs. I took a second to breathe out before I went upstairs.

The girls were all asleep when I entered our dormitory. I was kind of glad they were, because I wasn't sure I would have been able to put into words what had just happened. This all felt too good to be true – but it wasn't. I felt like my heart could burst out of my chest. I snuggled into my soft, warm sheets, and fell asleep smiling.

The next morning, I woke up to a very quiet dormitory. Angelina and Pam were nowhere to be seen, and Alicia and Melinda were still asleep. I took a quick look at my watch – it was almost eleven. Softly humming 'Magic Works', I slipped on a pair of jeans and a jumper, and made my way downstairs to the Great Hall. There was surprisingly a lot of people eating breakfast for the time of day – but I could guess that many had had a late night due to the ball.

I spotted the two familiar ginger heads in the crowd– and made my way to them, sitting down next to Angelina.

"'Morning" I said with a smile, grabbing a piece of toast.

"Adelaide! I was starting to lose hope that you would grace us with your presence today" said Fred.

I glared at him.

"Sleep well ?" asked George.

I finally turned to look at him, and felt my heart skip a beat. I honestly couldn't wrap my head around the fact that me and George had kissed the night before. He was smirking at me, and all I could think about was – _I kissed these lips. And I want to do it again. Very badly._ I strangely felt like he knew exactly what I was thinking, too.

"Very well, thank you" I muttered.

And then I thought – what now ? Were we a couple ? Should we announce to everyone that – _oh, blimey._ Had George told Fred about the kiss ? I couldn't imagine that he hadn't – but then again, George could be surprising, and it didn't look like Fred knew. He surely would have mentioned it by now. Not knowing suddenly made me feel very anxious about the way I should act. Should I pretend that nothing happened ? Or should I kiss him right now, right here in the middle of the Great Hall, in front of half the school ?

"Why are you blushing ?" suddenly asked Fred, frowning.

"I'm not blushing" I quickly replied.

"Then why are you as red as a lobster ?"

"It's just very hot here, all right !" I blabbered. "Leave it alone, Fred !"

He raised an eyebrow, glancing at Angelina who was chuckling.

"Looks like someone woke on the wrong side –"

"Piss off, Fred."

He shrugged, and I rolled my eyes. I didn't know why I felt so on edge – surely because I had no idea where to stand on the whole kissing-situation, and that George's silence was starting to make me nervous. After all, it sure looked like he hadn't told his brother/best friend about it – which made me doubt things that had felt certain the night before. I glanced at George, trying to find a hint of something – anything – in his eyes, but he was staring down at his porridge.

"Is Alicia still sleeping ?" asked Angelina.

"She was when I left the dormitory. She's probably going to sleep all day."

She nodded, and I tried to focus on spreading the jam on my toast. This silence was making me crazy. I glanced up at George again, and finally met his eyes – I raised my eyebrows, silently asking him to explain, but before I could see his reaction, I heard someone call my name.

"Adelaide ?

I turned to see Neville looking at me, looking slightly embarrassed, his eyes a bright shade of red. I was so startled that I didn't even think to correct him and not call me by that name.

"I just wanted to apologize again" he said.

"About what ?"

I realized that a lot of people were listening – the twins and Angelina, of course, but also Harry, Hermione, and a bunch of their friends from fourth-year were looking at us curiously, too. It was true that me and Neville didn't interact very often.

"About last night."

"Huh ?"

"When I disturbed you and –"

The memory suddenly came back to me.

"Neville !" I immediately shrieked.

I stared at him, eyes wide. _Oh, goodness._ I could feel my heart race in my chest.

"It's – I mean – it's fine !" I blurted out, smiling nervously. "Totally fine. Really. No need to apologize. Really, no need. No need at all."

I was aware of how high my voice probably sounded – and that my face was probably as red as the strawberry jam on the table in front of me, but all I cared about was that Neville would just let it go.

"All right" he said, nodding slowly. "Cheers. Okay."

I nodded, smiling brightly at him, and he turned back to his friends. Realizing that I had been holding my breath, I slowly let it out and went back to spreading the jam on my toast.

"What the bloody hell was that about ?"

I turned to Angelina, and realized that she was staring at me – as were the twins. I shrugged, taking a bite of my piece of toast to give myself some time to think about something.

"Nothing. Nothing important."

"It doesn't look like nothing" said Fred. "You had the same look on your face when you passed out in Charms class last year before the OWL exam –"

"I didn't pass out, I was feeling dizzy because I was dehydrated – and it's nothing, I told you."

"Hey, Addy ?"

George's voice almost startled me. I looked up at him – what beautiful eyes he had.

"Yeah ?"

"You know that thing I told you about last night ?"

"Yeah ?"

"You want to see it now ?"

"Yeah."

I didn't have a bloody idea of what he was talking about – but I knew that it was probably best that I followed his lead. After all, I wanted to know what was on his mind, and what I should do about the whole situation – because obviously, I hadn't been handling it very well so far. I didn't know why I had reacted so strongly when Neville had almost spilled the beans – probably beause he hadn't felt right. If Fred really didn't know about the kiss – well, kiss _es_ – learning about it from Neville probably wasn't the best idea.

I followed George as he stood up and walked alongside the Gryffindor Table to the entrance hall, my heart beating hard in my chest. We finally arrived next to a small broom cupboard – George opened the door and gestured me to get in. I glared at him, but he raised an eyebrow.

"Get in" he said sharply.

After a few seconds, I finally sighed and got in the small space. George followed me and closed the door behind him. The ceiling was high enough for me, but I noticed that he had to bend his head in order to fit.

"What was that all about ?" he immediately asked.

"What are you talking about ?" I replied, even though I know exactly what he was talking about.

"Neville. You. That whole thing !"

I stared at him.

"What, did you _want_ me to let him say it ? In front of everyone ?"

"Don't you want everyone to know ?"

"That's not the point !"

"It's exactly the point !"

We stared at each other for a few seconds, before I let out a groan.

"Look – I don't know, okay ? I panicked !" I sighed.

"Yeah, I noticed that."

I then realized that George wasn't mad at me, not at all – he was disappointed. I felt my heart skip a beat.

"It's not that I don't want people to know, George. It's just – it didn't feel right, is all."

He didn't reply, only kept staring at me. I let out a long, loud sigh. Had I already messed it all up ? I was terrified that I had, for a small second – but George grabbed my hands, squeezing them against his.

"Sorry" he muttered. "You're right. We probably should have talked about this last night."

"Definitely" I nodded.

A little smirk appeared on his lips – that was enough to make me smile. Soon, we were both laughing.

"We're pathetic" he chuckled.

"We are. I was so sure you would have told Fred ! Why didn't you ?"

He shrugged.

"I dunno. Didn't feel right. I wanted you to be there. As a witness – just in case he murdered me."

"I'm serious !"

"I'm serious too ! I wanted you to be there. I felt like it was something we should do together."

"I agree. So, what's the plan ?"

"I dunno" he shrugged. "Wait for the right moment, I guess."

"I like the sound of that" I smiled.

And suddenly, I couldn't look away. I looked at his eyes and his nose and his freckles, and I just smiled. It all still felt so unreal. And he was smiling too, that little smile I adored, and he raised one of his hands to gently place a strand of my hair behind my ear.

"Can I ask you a question ?" he said.

"Yes."

"Can I kiss you ?"

And there they were – the butterflies.

"George, you know what's great about all of this ?"

"What ?"

"You never, ever have to ask for permission to kiss me again."

I smiled, and he chuckled – and then, of course, kissed me.


	24. vol I : chapter twenty-four

_Good afternoon everyone!  
Here is the new chapter. We are approaching the end of Volume I ! How crazy !  
I'm very glad that you guys liked how Addy and George (finally) got together - but let me tell you, the story is far from over !  
_ _Thank you for all your support, it means the world ! I recently hit 100 reviews and 100 follows - that is amazing.  
As a thank you "gift", I would like you guys to tell me what you would like to happen later in the story, in Volume II (so, Order of the Phoenix era).  
I'm open to anything, from romantic date ideas to hilarious situations ! And I'll choose a few of your suggestions and integrate it in the next volume !  
_ _Enjoy, and keep sending me your thoughts :) xx_

* * *

 **wildest dreams  
** VOLUME I **  
**

* * *

 **CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR**

* * *

George and me didn't have to wait long for our 'right moment' – it came that same afternoon, on the Quidditch pitch. It had taken a little bit of convincing to get McGonagall to open the locker room again, but she eventually came around.

I was watching from the stands, of course, cheering them on. Katie had joined us, eager to get some practice, and joined Angelina and Alicia as Chasers. Fred and George played as Beaters, of course, and Lee stood in front of the goals as Keeper. They had decided to play without a Snitch, since there was no Seeker – and also because they just wanted to play without the official rules, just for once, and maybe practice some moves.

It was awfully cold outside – the others were able to keep warm by flying around, but not me. Even with two jumpers on, my warmest coat, my hat, my gloves, and my scarf wrapped tightly around my neck, I was freezing my bloody arse off. At first, I didn't really notice, being too happy to finally be able to watch some Quidditch after all those months, but as time passed, I was getting colder and colder, and at some point, I was really thinking about heading back to the castle, when _it_ happened.

It all happened really fast, and I couldn't believe what I had seen – but he had really done it. George had done the Wronski Feint. Screaming at the top of my lungs, I saw that everyone was getting back on the field to congratulate him, and I ran down there to join them, grinning from ear to ear.

"I can't believe you did it" I heard Alicia say.

"It was amazing !" nodded Angelina.

"Reckon I'm still the better-looking one" shrugged Fred.

Angelina gave him a nudge in the ribs, but I noticed how she was smiling. George was shaking his head, leaning on his broom.

"That was _bloody amazing !_ " I shouted when I finally got to them.

Without thinking, I ran into George's arms, hugging him tightly.

"It looked bloody brilliant from up there, you know !" I said enthusiastically. "Bugger, I wish I had brought my Omniculars…"

I stopped. After all, it was hard to focus with George's face two inches away from mine. I had started to pull away from the hug, but he held me there, smirking.

"Er – are you all right, Addy ?" said Katie, behind us.

I ignored her. Was that it ? The right moment ? Because I knew that all I wanted to do was kiss him, and I suddenly didn't care that all our friends were staring at us. George's smirk broadened slightly, and I could feel that he was asking me the question too – _is this it ?_

"Ready ?" he whispered.

I nodded, and he kissed me fully on the lips.

I didn't know if it was because of the cold, or because of the excitement of before, or because I knew everyone was watching – but that kiss sent sparks all through my body, and I could feel myself smiling through it. _Yep,_ I thought. _This is it._

We pulled back and after sharing another smile, we turned to the others, ready to face their reaction. They were all staring, eyes wide – obviously, no one had expected it.

"Surprise !" I said awkwardly, trying to diffuse the tension.

This seemed to shake everyone out of their stupefaction. Angelina, Alicia, Katie and Lee all smiled – only Fred looked like he was going to faint.

"Bloody hell !" exclaimed Lee, before bursting out laughing.

"How long has this been going on ?" asked Katie.

"Yeah, when did this happen ?" said Alicia.

"Oh - only last night" I replied with a smile.

"That's why it took you so long before you got upstairs !" smirked Alicia.

"Er – yeah" I said, blushing.

Fred's eyes widened. I had never seen him be so quiet. It was starting to make me nervous.

"Why didn't you tell us this morning ?" asked Angelina.

I shrugged, sharing a look with George who was holding me by the shoulders, stroking my arm softly. I didn't feel as cold anymore.

"We were waiting for the right moment" he said, smiling.

"Oh, _bloody hell –_ I'm gonna vomit."

We all turned to Fred, who looked extremely pale – but it was probably just because of the cold, right ?

"You okay there, Freddie ?" said George.

"Don't get me wrong – I knew it was going to happen some day – I am not as idiotic as you think I am. But I thought the universe would grant me a few more years of peace, without you two snogging in my face all day. Reckon I was wrong."

He had spoken very calmly and seriously, but I knew him well enough to see that he wasn't _actually_ mad. Angelina gave him a nudge, and a smirk appeared on his lips, before he jumped on his twin to ruffle his hair and yell at him for not telling him sooner. I slowly shook my head. I hadn't expected any less from Fred.

The news that me and George were now together went around the castle surprisingly fast, and by dinner that day, at least everyone in the Gryffindor Tower knew. Girls would smile at me, boys would nod at George – and some even came to congratulate us, which was a very awkward thing to do, in my opinion. When we got the the Great Hall that evening, Montague and his idiotic friends made a sly comment as we passed by – Fred replied by discreetly casting at Pimple Jinx at them. It was honestly very, very weird – I wasn't even used to the news yet, but it seemed like everyone was.

We spent the few days between Christmas and the start of them catching up on homework, playing Exploding Snap and working on the twins' products. Their business was going extremely well – even better than they had hoped. I tried to keep the snogging to a minimum when Fred was around – to 'spare him', as he had so dramatically said - but George didn't really care and would kiss me anytime and anywhere. And once he started kissing me, it was quite hard for me to ask him to stop.

He took his role as my boyfriend very seriously – he constantly referred to it as his 'new job'. He would hold my hand at all times, or bring me a nice, hot cup of tea when I was at the library. As our first official date, we went to the kitchens in the castle – he had asked the elves to prepare all my favorite food, which we ate sitting on a blanket, surrounded by candles, in a quiet corner. It had been absolutely perfect.

But apart from that, nothing had really changed between us – we laughed together, picked on each other, argued on Quidditch and stole from each other's plates. It was the same as before, but a hundred, a thousand times stronger. It felt wonderful, and easy. Perhaps it had been meant to be. It certainly felt like it.

Soon, classes started again, and soon, I was drowning under work again. But it didn't feel as tedious and tiring as before – probably because George proved himself to be a wonderful distraction. The next weekend, we all went to Hogsmeade to get a few Butterbeers, where Fred and George tried once again to get a hold of Ludo Bagman, who still hadn't done anything about their money. However, the man kept avoiding them or making up excuses – and I could feel Fred and George getting really angry.

Near the end of January, I was feeling extremely tired because of the amount of work I had to do. Every teacher I had seemed to have the one and only goal to make my life miserable and keep me from having any kind of social life. I spent most evenings at the library, except the ones where George dragged me out of it to get my mind off things. I was therefore exhausted, and my patience was running really short. I had nearly cried when the mug I was supposed to transfigure into a mouse had caught fire – McGonagall had sent me to the infirmary, telling me to 'get some rest, for Godric's sake'.

The next Thursday, the last thing I wanted to do was to go to Potions – but I didn't really have a choice. I looked up at the board when I entered the dark classroom – we would be brewing our own Amortencia today. _Great_. I would have much preferred a theoretical lesson, for once – then I could have spent both hours playing Hangman with Fred instead of actually having to _do_ something. And, to make everything even more perfect, Snape announced that the work would be individual, and separated all the desks.

I had been working on our potions for almost an hour – and it was going surprisingly well, perhaps because I didn't have Fred putting random ingredients in my cauldron for once – when the last person I wanted to see came sneaking around my desk.

"Hey, Harlowe, how's your Amortencia going ?"

I glared at Montague, who was smirking down at me, probably thinking he looked very clever with his cardigan open and his tie slightly crooked.

"What do you want ?" I replied sharply.

I was not in the mood for his smug remarks.

"I wonder what it smells like to you. Oh, wait let me guess."

"If it amuses you" I sighed, trying to ignore him.

"I'm thinking… a pile of rubbish ? Or vomit, maybe ?"

I rolled my eyes.

"You know what _I'm_ thinking ? How about you get out of my sight ?"

But of course – he ignored me.

"Nah, I bet it smells like those toilets on the third floor… Mixed with stupidity and failure."

"Piss off, Montague."

"What ? You're dating Weasley, after all, aren't you ?"

"I SAID PISS OFF, YOU ARSE !"

I only realized I had yelled after the whole classroom went silent. Montague looked at me, a smug look on his face. I deeply sighed, waiting for Snape to appear. It didn't take very long.

"Miss Harlowe, ten points off Gryffindor."

"But he was –"

"And a three days of detention."

I opened my mouth to argue, but I saw Angelina shake her head from the other side of the class. I sighed loudly, looking back down at my cauldron.

"What was he saying to you ? I couldn't hear anything. We really have to work on those Extendable Ears this summer, Fred" said George when Snape finally let us go, half an hour later.

"Nothing important" I shrugged. "He was just being the smug, bloody arrogant git that he is. I shouldn't have lost my temper. Now I'm gonna be polishing trophies for three nights."

I sighed, dropping my bag loudly on the table as we got the Great Hall.

"I bloody should've punched him in the face, at least it would have been worth it."

"I would pay to see that" said Fred.

"Don't fret, Addy, my love. Your revenge will come. After all, we still need a guinea pig to test our Nosebleed Nougat on."

"I thought you still hadn't figured out the antidote" I frowned.

"Precisely" they replied in unison.

I smiled, suddenly feeling much better.


	25. vol I : chapter twenty-five

_Here is a new chapter ! It is a bit slow, but I hope you like it anyway.  
I got a few suggestions from you guys, and I love it ! Please send more._  
 _Thank you once again for all your support - and don't forget to review :)_  
 _Enjoy ! xx_

* * *

 **wildest dreams  
** VOLUME I **  
**

* * *

 **CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE**

* * *

On Valentine's Day, me and George decided to go to Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop, just for the laugh. We spent the entire time calling each other by the worst nicknames possible – 'my fresh, adorable and tasty favorite tea bag' was one of them – and discreetly pranked the other couples there by giving them bad breaths or making them spill their tea on their other half. It was hilarious – we ended up being kicked out of the place by the owner, but I didn't really care.

The day before the Second Task, I was walking with Fred and George to their secret room, where they stocked their products and spent time working on them. They wanted to get their things ready for the bet system they had installed for the Tournament. The castle was surprisingly quiet that night – probably because everyone wanted to get a good night's sleep to be rested for the next day.

"I'm nervous for Harry" I said. "I hope he figured out that whole egg thing."

"Let's hope he did. Otherwise I don't think –"

George stopped talking mid-sentence, and I knew why. We had just turned a corner to come face to face with someone I hadn't expected to see – Nik.

"Nik ! Hi !" I exclaimed awkwardly.

"Good evening, Addy."

I felt incredibly awkward. After all, I hadn't spoken to him since he had invited me to the ball. I hadn't seen him around the castle a lot since then. I wondered if he was mad at me, or if he had moved on. I felt George squeeze my hand.

"How are you ?" I asked, trying to smile as kindly as I could.

"Good" he nodded. "And you ?"

"I'm good, thank you."

I saw that his eyes travelled from my face to my right hand – the one that was holding George's. I cleared my throat.

"This is George, by the way. And Fred" I said awkwardly.

"Of course. Nice to meet you."

"Likewise" the said in unison.

An awkward silence followed. I heard Fred chuckle beside me, and resisted the urge to nudge him hard in the ribs.

"Are you excited about the Task tomorrow ?" I asked.

"Yes. It should be entertaining."

"Yeah, for sure."

Another silence.

"Well, I'll see you around" said Nik after a while.

"Yeah. All right."

He nodded, and then resumed walking. As soon as he had turned the corner, I sighed loudly.

"That was awkward" laughed Fred.

"I really don't like him" said George.

"Why ? He was nice to you. Nicer than I would have thought" I sighed.

"I don't like him is all. Something about his face."

"Weird nose" nodded Fred.

"And he snogged you. He had no right to snog my girlfriend."

"I wasn't your girlfriend at the time" I replied, amused.

"Don't care" he shrugged.

I shook my head, but I couldn't help but smile and steal him a quick kiss.

"I'm gonna be sick" sighed Fred.

"You've been sick a lot these past few weeks, Fred. Maybe you should go see Madame Pomfrey about it" I smiled.

"I think that what I really need is an Obliviator."

We were almost at the secret room when we were stopped by McGonagall who seemed to have been waiting for us outside her office. She was looking very serious – which made me nervous that we were in trouble.

"Ah, Mr and Mr Weasley, Miss Harlowe."

"Good evening, Professor" I smiled.

"Could you please get your brother, Mr. Weasley, and Miss Granger and bring them back to my office ? It's important. I believe they are in the library."

I wanted to sigh out of relief. If I had to polish one more trophy…

"Of course, Professor" replied Fred and George.

"Oh, and – not Mr. Potter, you understand ? Only Mr. Weasley and Miss Granger."

"Duly noted" said George.

McGonagall nodded sharply and returned back in her office. We started making our way to the library.

"Wonder what she wants with them" said Fred.

"Yeah, and not Harry ? That's odd" nodded George.

"Maybe it's about the Task" I suggested.

We spent the rest of the way trying to figure out what McGonagall could want with Ron and Hermione, but we were clueless, other than the fact that it was probably connected with the Task. We found the trio in the farthest part of the library, surrounded by books, looking quite tired.

"Oh this is no use" sighed Hermione. "Who on earth wants to make their nose hair grow into ringlets ?"

"I wouldn't mind" said Fred. "Be a talking point, wouldn't it ?"

I rolled my eyes.

"What're you three doing there ?" asked Ron.

"Looking for you" replied George. "McGonagall wants you, Ron. And you, Hermione."

"Why ?"

"Dunno… she was looking a bit grim, though" sighed Fred.

"We're supposed to take you down to her office" I said.

Harry, Ron and Hermione shared a look. I glanced at one of the books on the table – it was about spells. But none of them looked like they were doing homework. Were they looking for a way to get Harry through the task ?

"We'll meet you back in the Common Room" said Hermione. "Bring as many of these books as you can, okay ?"

"Right" replied Harry, looking very uncomfortable.

Fred and George spent the entire way to McGonagall's office trying to convince Ron and Hermione to tell us what the Task was about – but both of them wouldn't say a thing. Ron spilled out something about the lake after Fred threatened him that he would put spiders in his bed if he didn't say anything, but after Hermione hit him on the side of the head with one of her heavy books, Ron decided to simply stop talking whatsoever.

It was sunny the next day, but the wind was blowing strong as we made our way to the Black Lake. As Fred and George walked around, collecting the bets, I stood with Angelina and Alicia, watching over the dark waters.

"I can't believe they have to go in there !" said Alicia.

"The water must be freezing cold" nodded Angelina.

"Well, Harry was looking for a spell in the library last night" I explained. "Maybe he figured out a way not to freeze to death."

We didn't have to wait long for Bagman to explain us what the Task was – the champions had to explore the lake and recover something that was taken from them, something dear to them. I immediately understood what it was – Ron ! And Hermione ! That was why McGonagall wanted to see them, and why I hadn't seen them in the stands. I couldn't believe it – that Tournament was really something.

"Well, all our champions are ready for the second task, which will start on my whistle" announced Bagman a few minutes later. "They have precisely one hour to recover what has been taken from them. On the count of three, then. One… two… three !"

We all stretched our necks to see the four champions dive into the lake. Soon, they had all disappeared in the dark water, and the only thing left for us to do was to wait. For a while, we all stood there, looking impatiently at the lake, but then we all sat down and started playing Exploding Snap to pass the time.

It had almost been an hour when Fleur emerged from the lake. She had been disqualified –she had been attacked by grindylows.

"What, now ? Are they just going to let her hostage drown at the bottom of the lake ?" said Lee.

"Dumbledore would never do that, Lee" sighed Angelina.

"Well, you never know. He's starting to get old after – oi !"

Fred was interrupted by Angelina, who hit him hard on the chest. However, Fred only replied to that by kissing her. I exchanged a glance with George, smirking.

After exactly an hour, Bagman announced that the time limit had been reached. However, neither Krum, Diggory or Harry were back. I was starting to get worried, as did everyone. What if they never came back from the bottom of the lake ? Merlin knew what was down there. But about a minute after Bagman's announcement, Diggory got back, holding Cho Chang, and Krum followed soon after, carrying a very confused Hermione.

As time passed, we all started getting very anxious about Harry – and also about Ron, who was still down there. I could see that even Dumbledore was frowning, which was not a very good sign in my book. However, a few minutes later, which seemed like forever, Harry finally emerged from the water, carrying both Ron and a younger, blonde-haired girl with him – probably Fleur's hostage. We all cheered for him loudly, relieved that everyone was now safe again.

It was hard to see from where we were what was going in the bank where the judges and the champions were – but luckily, we didn't have to wait long for Bagman to announce the scores.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we have reached our decision. Merchieftainess Murcus has told us exactly what happened at the bottom of the lake, and we therefore decided to award marks out of fifty for each of the champions, as follows… Fleur Delacour, though she demonstrated excellent use of the Bubble-Head Charm, was attacked by grindylows as she approached her goal, and failed to retrieve her hostage. We award her twenty-five points."

We applauded quietly – in my opinion, she deserved zero, but it wasn't like I could do something about it. Diggory then got forty-seven points, and Krum forty points.

"Harry Potter used gillyweed to great effect" said Bagman. "He returned last, and well outside the time limit of an hour. However, the Merchiftainess informs us that Mr. Potter was first to reach the hostages, and that the delay in his return was due to his determination to return all hostages to safety, not merely his own."

"Classic Harry" said Fred with a smile.

"Most of the judges feel that this shows moral fiber and merits full marks. However… Mr. Potter's score is forty-five points."

"FORTY-FIVE !" shouted Lee.

"Just two points behind Cedric !" I exclaimed, grinning.

I was truly happy for Harry – he deserved it more than anyone. He himself looked he could explode of happiness, and was very cheerful at the party in the Common Room that night. It felt like everything was going well at that moment. Harry had a shot at winning the Tournament, I could kiss George anytime and anywhere I wanted, and summer was coming our way quickly – and for the months that followed, Montague, Snape, not even the amount of work I had to do was able to keep me down. I was like floating, calm and happy.


	26. vol I : chapter twenty-six

_Hi ! Hope everyone is doing well!_  
 _Here's the new chapter - it's a little short, but I personally quite like it, so I hope you do too._  
 _Thank you for all the follows/favorites/reviews once again, keep them coming :)_  
 _Enjoy xx_

* * *

 **wildest dreams  
** VOLUME I

* * *

 **CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX**

* * *

It was late May when Fred and George finally decided they had had enough of Ludo Bagman. We were sitting with Angelina at the Three Broomsticks, one Saturday afternoon, enjoying Butterbeers and Cornish pasties, when the Ministry official entered the pub and ordered something to drink.

"Now's the time, George" said Fred. "I'm tired of waiting."

"I was hoping you'd say that, Freddie. Let's go get him."

They both stood up and made their way to Bagman, looking very determined.

"I hope this whole thing ends well" sighed Angelina.

"Me too" I nodded. "But I don't trust that Bagman for one second. I mean, it's been what – 9 months ? And he still hasn't done anything."

"Yeah. What if they never get their money back? What will they do?"

"I dunno" I shrugged. "They'll have to find another way to get the funds…"

"Aren't things going well with their products? I mean, they are making money, aren't they?"

"Yeah, but it will never be enough. Not if they want to open by next year…"

I stopped – Fred and George were coming back to the table, looking more furious than I had ever seen them.

"I'm gonna bloody strangle him, I swear" said Fred between his teeth.

"What happened?" asked Angelina.

"We suggested to buy him a drink, like we did before, and of course – he said no, coming up with some excuse. So we said that we wouldn't leave until we got our money back, and he got all fed up" explained George.

"Told us we were too young to bet, and that he never thought we were serious anyway. Git" finished Fred.

"But that's rubbish!" I exclaimed. "You gave him all your savings!"

"We know that, Addy" said Fred, looking grim. "But he doesn't seem to care. We asked him to at least give us back our part of the bet, but he said no."

"That's not fair!" said Angelina.

"That git!" I hissed. "He can't do that! I won't bloody let him!"

George shrugged.

"There's nothing we can do, really."

"Don't give up that easily, George" said Angelina.

"I'm not giving up, I'm being realistic ! What can we do against a Ministry officiaL? We're only students, no one will believe us."

I sighed loudly.

"I say we send him another letter" suddenly said Fred. "And this time, we won't be nice."

"Fred, we talked about this, we can't take the – Adds, where are you going?"

I didn't bother answering, already turning on my feet. I was fed up. I couldn't just sit and watch the twins be so miserable, and not at least try something. I knew that what I was doing was stupid, and probably wouldn't change anything, but I had to do it – at least just to feel better. I made my way to the bar and tapped on Bagman's shoulder.

"Excuse me?" I said, trying to remain calm.

Bagman turned around, eyebrows raised.

"Can I help you?"

"Yes – yes you can. You see, I'm a friend of Fred and George Weasley – and I know everything about the bet they made with you at the World Cup, and –"

"Wait – who are you?"

"Who I am doesn't matter. You owe them money. It's _their_ money, they won it. So you better stop being a prat and give it back to them."

"Look, Miss, I'm sure that –"

"I don't want to hear your pathetic excuses, you cretin ! You _will_ give them their money, or I swear you will regret it. Understood?"

Without waiting for an answer, I swirled on my feet and walked back to the table, feeling a little breathless. I sat back down, and took a long sip of my Butterbeer.

"Addy, that was –" started Fred.

"That was brilliant!"

"And absolutely idiotic."

But the twins were both smiling – even Angelina was. I chuckled as George slid his arm around my shoulder and kissed me on the side of my head.

"It did make me feel better."

"And looks like you scared him off" noted Angelina.

I glanced behind me – Bagman was leaving the Three Broomsticks, looking rather pale.

"I can't blame him. You're kind of scary when you're mad" shrugged Fred.

"Completely mental, you are" nodded George.

We all bursted out laughing.

But even if I had managed to put a little scare in Bagman that day, it didn't do anything. A week later, he still hadn't contacted the twins. There was no sign of him, or the money. Fred had therefore decided to write a very explicit letter, 'without holding back', he had said. George was still skeptical, arguing that they could be accused of blackmail if they ever sent it. I had tried to dig up as much information as I could from the library – they could very well be accused of it, from what I had gathered, but Fred didn't seem to care.

"He's never gonna tell on us!" he exclaimed as we made our way to the Owlery one night.

"What makes you say that?" I asked.

"He's a coward, and I'm pretty sure he's hiding something –"

"That doesn't change anything, Fred" argued George. "That letter – that's blackmail, that is, we could get into a lot of trouble for that –"

"We've tried being polite; it's time to play dirty, like him. He wouldn't like the Ministry of Magic knowing what he did –"

"I'm telling you, if you put that in writing, it's blackmail!"

"He's right!" I sighed. "Try to think about this…"

"Don't you side with him! You're as angry as I am!" snapped Fred.

"I'm not taking sides!"

"Yes you are!"

"Shut up, both of you! We're all angry! But we can't risk everything –"

"Yeah, and you won't be complaining if we get a nice fat payoff, will you?"

I opened the door to the Owlery, exasperated – to come face to face with Harry, Ron and Hermione. I froze – I hadn't expected anyone to be there so late at night.

"What're you doing here?" asked Fred and Ron at the same time.

"Sending a letter" answered both Harry and George.

"What, at this time?" I asked with Hermione.

We all glanced at each other. I was very curious to know what the three of them were doing – but at the same time, I didn't want to have to tell them what _we_ were doing. I had promised Fred and George not to talk about it – only us and Angelina knew about it.

"Fine" said Fred. "We won't ask you what you're doing, if you don't ask us."

Nobody moved.

"Well, don't let us hold you up" added Fred, gesturing to the door.

"Who're you blackmailing?"

I bit my lip, as silence followed. But George quickly smiled at Ron.

"Don't be stupid, I was only joking."

"Didn't sound like that."

I glanced at the twins. They looked very uncomfortable.

"I've told you before, Ron, keep your nose out if you like it the shape it is. Can't see why you would, but –"

"It's my business if you're blackmailing someone" said Ron. "George's right, you could end up in serious trouble for that."

"Told you, I was joking."

He then snatched the letter from Fred's hand and started attaching it to the closest owl.

"You're starting to sound a bit like our dear older brother, you are, Ron. Carry on like this and you'll be made perfect."

"No, I won't!"

"Well, stop telling people what to do then. See you later."

"Addy, tell me who they are blackmailing!"

I stared back at Ron, eyes wide. I could feel Fred and George's stare on my back.

"No one" I said quickly. "They're just jokes, Ron, stop worrying. Good night."

I hurried out of the Owlery behind the twins, sighing loudly. Lying came easy to Fred and George – I still needed practice, even after all those years. I was good at making impulsive decisions, or at saying what nobody else wanted to say – but never at lying.

"Do you think they know something?" I asked as we made our way back to the castle.

"I reckon they don't" said Fred. "Otherwise they would have said something."

"Or gone straight to Dumbledore" added George.

"Well… maybe that isn't such a bad idea."

Fred and George glared at me.

"I'm just saying! Maybe he could help you."

"Dumbledore has better things to do with his time, I'm sure. Besides, we can take care of it ourselves. I'm sure that letter will do something" said Fred.

"Yeah, send us straight to Azkaban" mumbled George.

"Stop making such a fuss, Georgie. Anyway, it's done. We can only wait now."

I glanced at George – he really did look worried. I grabbed his hand, squeezing it. He gave me a smile. We had reached the portrait leading to the kitchens when George stopped.

"I'm hungry" he said. "Anyone up for a piece of cake?"

"Yes, please, I'm starving" I sighed.

"But we ate just before – Oh, never mind. I get it. You two disgusting love birds want some time alone."

Neither me and George bothered denying it. Fred rolled his eyes.

"Very well. I'll walk back on my own."

"We love you, Freddie!" I said as he walked away.

"Traitors" I heard him say before he disappeared at the corner.

I chuckled, glancing at George. Quickly kissing him, I then went to tickle the pear on the portrait. I didn't know what you would happen next with the whole Bagman story, and if the letter would have any consequences – but I did know that a piece of cake never hurt anybody.


	27. vol I : chapter twenty-seven

_Helloooooo!  
Here's chapter 27 (already ?!). I hope you like it._  
 _We are fast approaching the end of volume 1 - only 3 chapters left after this one !_  
 _Thank you for all your reviews/follows/favorites, I love you guys ! Keep them coming :)_  
 _Enjoy xx_

* * *

 **wildest dreams  
** VOLUME I

* * *

 **CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN**

* * *

"I knew it !"

I looked up at Lee, who had just shouted from the couch on the other side of the Common Room. Fortunately, it was only me, him and a couple of third years – everyone else was outside, enjoying the lovely weather. I had homework to catch up on, and Lee had had an extra parchment to write to Snape because he had blown up his cauldron during our last Potions lesson – but obviously, he hadn't been working at all.

"You all right ?" I asked, frowning.

He sprung up from the couch and nearly ran to the table where I was sitting – waving a piece of parchment in his hand.

"I knew I had heard that name before !" he said as he sat down in front of me.

"What name ?"

Lee had always been hard to follow – his mind always wandered from one thing to another, which never had any connection to each other whatsoever.

"Ludo Bagman !" he said.

"Well, doesn't your dad work with him ?"

Lee's dad worked at Ministry, in the Department of Magical Games and Sport. Therefore, Bagman was his superior – no doubt Lee had heard about him before.

"No, that's not it !"

I frowned, putting down my quill.

"What are you trying to say ?"

"I had a hunch, so I wrote to my dad, asking about him. Look at what he answered !"

He handed me the piece of parchment – it was a letter from his dad. I started reading.

"Your dad had issues with him as well ?" I asked, surprised.

"Yeah, a few years back" nodded Lee. "He lent Bagman some money – the bloke said he had been robbed or something. So my dad helped him – but as you can see, Bagman never gave him his money back."

I nodded, and kept on reading. My eyes widened as I finished the letter.

"Bloody hell" I muttered.

"I know – awful, innit ? Now there's no hope Fred and George ever will –"

"We have to tell them !"

I started gathering my things, shoving them in my bag.

"What, right now ?" said Lee.

"Yes, right now !"

"But I have to do my –"

"Oh, you won't get anything done before it's a matter of life and death, and you know that ! Come on !"

Lee cracked a smile before he stood up and followed me out of the Common Room. We found Fred and George in the park, trying to sell some of their products to the students enjoying the warm sun.

"Look who's here" laughed Fred.

I ignored him and shoved the letter in his face.

"Read it" I said, grinning.

"What is it ?" asked George suspiciously.

"Just read it !"

I glared at both of them – and they unfolded the letter and started to read it. When they were done, they looked up at me and Lee, eyes wide.

"Goblins !" said Fred.

"No wonder he doesn't want to pay us back" sighed George.

"Yeah, because he actually _can't_ do it" nodded Lee.

"I'm sorry" I said faintly.

The twins exchanged a look.

"Well, at least we know why, now" said George.

"Sure, there's at least that. Still hate the bloke, though" shrugged Fred.

"Yeah. He got himself into that mess" nodded George.

"What d'you reckon he'll do to get out of it ?" asked Lee.

I shrugged.

"Something stupid, probably."

Fred, George and Lee nodded.

"Are you guys staying with us, or are you going back in your cave ?" asked Fred.

I exchanged a look with Lee. I really didn't want to go back inside after feeling the sun on my back now. I knew I had work to do – but that could wait. Sunny days in England were too rare, I had to enjoy them. So we both decided to stay, and spent the rest of the afternoon walking around, and selling Canary Creams.

The castle was extremely busy the morning of the Final Task, a few days after – everyone was excited and anxious. Of course, everyone had noticed the huge maze that had been built on the Quidditch Pitch, so the task wasn't a mystery this time – but we didn't know what was _in_ the maze, and if the two first tasks were easier than this one… well, let's just say I was really worried for Harry. When the post came, I got a letter from my uncle, and another one who only had my name written on it. There was no indication of from who it was. Frowning, I put it my pocket, telling myself I would open it later.

Exams had not been easy so far. I had thought my brain would explode during my Runes exam the day before, and it certainly didn't help that we had a History of Magic exam the next day. I was therefore very relieved when I got back to the Common Room that day after the exam – my next exam would only be in three days, and it was Charms.

"Hey, how did it go ?" asked George as I sat down beside him.

"Terribly" I sighed. "Couldn't remember half the things I memorized."

"You did look pretty desperate when I left the class" he chuckled.

"I just don't see the use of that bloody class – anyway, let's not talk about it. Lunch ?"

"Fred and Angelina are already down there."

I nodded, and, grabbing his head, we made our way to the Great Hall, where we found – much to our surprise – Molly and Bill sitting at the Gryffindor Table.

"Mom ? Bill ?"

"Hello, dears ! We've come to watch Harry in the last task !" said Molly.

I hugged her tightly – it was really nice to see her again. We sat down with the rest of the family, and Harry and Hermione, discussing the task and everything that had happened at Hogwarts this year. We had been talking for over an hour when Molly suddenly stared at me and George with wide eyes.

"You're – you're holding hands !"

 _Oh – right._ I glanced at George, smiling shyly.

"We are" said George, smirking.

"But – but – _does that mean you two are –_ "

"Yeah, Mom, that's exactly what it means" said Fred. "Addy and George decided to start making our lives miserable by snogging in our faces all the time."

"Fred !" I snapped.

"Congratulations, you two" said Bill, smiling.

"Thanks, Bill."

"Oh – that is wonderful !" said Molly, grinning. "When did it happen ?"

"December" said George. "After the Yule Ball."

"And you didn't think to tell me in a letter, did you ?"

"Thought it would be a nice surprise" said George, shrugging.

"Oh, you !"

Molly leaned forward to kiss us both on the cheek. I never really thought Molly wouldn't agree to me dating George – but it was still nice to see that she was genuinely happy about it. After we all finished eating, Molly, Bill and Harry set off for a walk in the park, Hermione and Ron for the library – the latter didn't seem really enchanted at the idea – and Ginny had a Potions exam, so I set off for the Common Room with Fred and George, where we met with Angelina to play some Exploding Snap. It was nice to do something else with my time than study.

We had just finished a game when I remembered the letter I had gotten that morning from my uncle. I asked Alicia to take my place and went to sit next to the fireplace. There were two things in the enveloppe – a piece of parchment with my uncle's handwriting on it, and a piece of Muggle paper.

 _Addy,_

 _Hope your exams are going well._

 _I got this letter in the mail this morning. Your parents asked me to send it to you._

 _You don't have to read it if you don't want to. You also don't have to accept their proposition. It's your choice. Know that I will always support you, no matter what you do._

 _Take care,_

 _Myron_

I stared at the other piece of paper. That was from my parents, then. I felt my heart beat fast – what did they want with me ? And what did Myron mean by 'proposition' ? Too curious to resist, I opened the letter. I didn't recognize the handwriting, of course, and looked at the signature at the bottom – it was signed 'your mother and father'. I took a deep breath.

 _Dear Adelaide,_

 _We realize how odd it must be for you to hear from us after all these years. You must be asking yourself why we decided to write to you now. The truth is, we have been in denial for a very long time. We always thought we had made the right decision by leaving you with your uncle – the right decision for you, but also the right decision for us. We have been horribly selfish, and we can never forgive ourselves for that._

 _Your uncle has perhaps told you that he saw me (your father) a few months ago. Ever since this moment, I have not been able to think about anything else – about how you were, about who you have become. We both have. That is why we are asking you now if you would like to meet us._

 _We are not asking for forgiveness. You have every right to say no and to shred this letter. We have not been good parents to you, and we will understand if you prefer not to hear from us again. But if there is even the smallest part of you that will let us see you, and meet the wonderful young woman we know you are – please, give us that. It would be an honor to get to know you._

 _We will be in England this summer. You can contact us anytime. I think your world does not use phones or email – so I joined the address of the house we have rented in Dorset._

 _Lots of love,_

 _Your mother and father_

I couldn't stop staring at the words. They sounded so strange – 'meet us', 'not asking for forgiveness', 'the wonderful young woman we know you are'. Even the ones I didn't understand, like 'shred', or 'email', echoed in my head.

After I finished reading the letter for what seemed to be the hundredth time, I carefully folded it again and wiped the tears from the corner of my eyes. It felt like a dream, and like a nightmare at the same time. I honestly didn't know what to think about it. A part of me wanted to throw the letter in the fire, and chase it away from my mind forever – but the other part wanted to go to that address in Dorset, and meet my parents. How odd it sounded. 'Meet my parents'.

"Addy ?"

I hadn't even noticed George coming to sit beside me. He quickly grabbed my hand, squeezing it against his own. I glanced at him through the tears that just wouldn't stop falling.

"What happened, Addy ?"

I took a deep breath. I couldn't even find the words to properly explain it to him – so I handed him the letter, so that he could see for himself. He read it slowly, still holding my hand tight, frowning. When he was done, he put it back on the couch, looking shocked.

"I – I don't know what to say" he mumbled.

"Me neither" I said, shaking my head.

"Did you – do you – I mean, I guess the question is… Do you want to go ?"

I stared back at him.

"I don't know" I answered honestly. "What do you think ?"

"Me ? Well, I dunno… I mean, they sound nice, and it looks like they have good intentions…"

"Yeah, I bet they had good intentions when they abandoned me, too" I said.

"That's not what I meant. Sorry."

I sighed, shaking my head.

"No – _I'm_ sorry. I should've said that. I'm just… I'm confused."

"I'd think you mad if you weren't."

That made me smile. George pulled me to him, hugging me tightly.

"Take some time to think about it. You don't have to decide now" he whispered in my ear.

I nodded, closing my eyes for a few seconds, holding on tightly to him. He was right. I had all summer to decide. I tried to imagine myself going to Dorset to meet them – stand in front of them, and say, 'Hi, I'm your daughter'. It was very, very odd. But I was also very curious to see what they looked like, who they were. I had a vague memory of them in my head, but more than ten years had passed since then, so I was probably very far from the truth. Sighing, I decided to put those thoughts aside and try to enjoy myself a little for the rest of the day.


	28. vol I : chapter twenty-eight

_Hello everyone! :)_  
 _Some of you may have noticed that it's taken me longer than usual to update - that's simply because my computer broke!_  
 _I had to send it to Apple for them to fix it, and it took a few days. But I'm back now, and my computer is all shiny and working again!_  
 _I hope you like this chapter. It's one of my favorites._  
 _Thank you for your lovely reviews/follows/favorites, you guys are incredible. Please keep writing to me! :)_  
 _Enjoy xx_

* * *

 **wildest dreams  
** VOLUME I

* * *

 **CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT**

* * *

"Three – two – one –"

Following the piercing noise of the whistle, Harry and Cedric disappeared into the maze. But the Hogwarts crowd kept on cheering, until Fleur was gone, and even a little after that. But soon, it was obvious that the only thing left to do was to wait, once again, so everyone sat down, looking at the maze anxiously.

"Those tasks would be a bloody lot more interesting if we could actually see what's going on" muttered Fred.

I nodded – I had to agree with him. But then again, there was probably a reason why we didn't. Maybe the obstacles the champions had to face were too terrible for the crowd to see… The thought sent chills down my spine. I hoped Harry would be all right. I even thought about Cedric, and Fleur, and Krum – even if I didn't support them, I didn't want anything to happen to them either.

I could feel the tension in the crowd around us. Even if everyone tried to distract themselves by talking, playing cards, or even studying, we all ended up glancing anxiously at the entrance of the maze, hoping to see a familiar face appear, smiling in victory. But the minutes passed, and the maze remained silent.

Even if I was worried about Harry and the other champions, I still couldn't stop thinking about the letter my parents had sent me. I honestly didn't know what to make of it – if I should go and meet them or not. Turning away from Molly's conversation with the others about the merits of _Witch Weekly_ , I took out the letter from my pocket and read it again, and again. '… _if there is the smallest part of you that will let us see you…'_

"You should stop reading that."

I glanced at George, who looked at me with a serious look on his face. I sighed.

"I know. I can't help it" I replied softly.

Without another word, he snatched the letter from my hands, and put it in his pocket.

"George…"

"Addy. I know it's a big deal, but… you're driving yourself mad over this."

I sighed again. I knew he was right, but I also knew that I couldn't stop myself.

"I know it's hard for you to do, but… don't overthink it."

I smiled.

"You know me too well, Weasley."

"It's my job."

I shook my head before kissing him tenderly. I was truly lucky to have him. He slid his arm around my shoulder, and I settled my head on his chest, enjoying the sensation of the light, chilly wind.

"I know I already asked you, but… what do you think I should do ?" I said.

"I dunno, Adds…"

"What if it was your parents ? What do you do if you were me?"

"Honestly?"

"Yes."

He took a deep breath.

"I reckon I'd go."

I slowly nodded – for some reason, I expected him to say that.

"Just to get closure, you know" he continued. "If it works out, brilliant. If it doesn't… well, at least you'll be settled. And you can move on properly."

"You're probably right" I sighed. "I just..."

"What?"

I hesitated.

"Nothing. It's stupid."

"Rubbish. Go on. Tell me."

"I just – I don't know… What if they don't like _me_? What if _I_ don't live up to their expectations?"

"You're right. It's stupid."

I looked up at him. He looked so serious – I bursted out laughing.

"Bloody idiot" I muttered, hitting him hard on the chest with the back of my hand.

"If I'm really an idiot, that means you have been snogging one for five months."

"Yes, but the difference with the other idiots is that I like that particular idiot very much."

"Oh, do you now?"

I rolled my eyes as he looked at me, faking surprise.

"Well, why don't you tell me what you like so much about this idiot."

I stared back at him, arching an eyebrow.

"Really?"

He nodded.

"Very well" I said.

I sighed, trying to think about something coherent. Why did I like about George, except for basically everything ? I was sure he wanted me to be more precise.

"Okay. So, this complete and utter idiot that I like –"

"Oi!"

"Hey, don't interrupt me, or I won't say anything."

He slid his finger across his lips, telling me he wouldn't interrupt me again. I chuckled.

"All right. What do I like about this idiot… I like his hair."

George rolled his eyes.

"The color, of course" I continued. "But I mostly love how it's always messy. Seriously, I'm pretty sure he doesn't even know what a hairbrush is…"

He chuckled, shaking his head.

"I also like his eyes. And how they always shine, even when it's dark."

I blushed slightly as I saw him smile softly, grabbing my hand to gently stroke it.

"I like how he takes care of me. I like how he knows me so well, probably better than I know myself. How he knows how I feel all the time, how he just… _gets_ me. I also hate that part of him."

He chuckled again.

"And I like how I feel when I'm with him – young, and free. Oh! And he's a very good kisser."

I smiled. I could have gone on and on, but that felt right. George kissed my hand softly.

"What do you think?" I asked him.

"Not bad. But now, it's my turn to tell you about this nutter _I_ like."

I glared at him, but didn't stop him – I was curious to see what he had to say, after all.

"First thing is… she's a complete nutter."

"Seriously?"

"Hey, we said no interruption."

"Sorry."

He rolled his eyes, and took a deep breath.

"She is also the most beautiful girl I've ever seen."

I felt my cheeks starting to burn. It was probably embarrassing how red I was.

"Seriously. Her eyes are this pale shade of blue – and you get lost in them everytime you look at her. It's maddening."

I shook my head. _Idiot. A complete idiot._

"She's smart. She's like a endless… jar of ideas. And brilliant ones."

 _A jar?_

"She's adorable, in general. Even more when she gets mad at someone. She can eat an impressive amount of pancakes in an impressively short amount of time."

I bursted out laughing.

"And she makes me feel like the luckiest bloke in the world, because I've got the _best_ girl in the world beside me. It's true – I tell everyone, 'sorry, mate, but I'm the one who got her. Better luck next time'."

He was smiling so brightly – and my heart was so full, I felt like it could explore this second.

"Come here" I said, pulling his face towards mine.

I kissed him. I didn't feel like I had to say anything else.

"Oh, you two are adorable."

I pulled away from the kiss to see Molly smiling at us. I smiled awkwardly – it was a little weird, after all. I expected Fred to say something, but when I spotted him a few seats away, I saw that he was very busy snogging Angelina. Chuckling, I settled my head back on George's chest and smiled. I already felt much better. George was right. I couldn't let this overwhelm me too much. I would go, and see what happened. I was a Gryffindor, after all, I had to act like one from time to time.

Soon, we learned that both Fleur and Krum had been removed from the maze, which only left Harry and Cedric as a possible Triwizard Champion. All Hogwarts students were cheering loudly and excitedly. At this point, I believed everyone would be happy either way. I was in the middle of a very heated argument with Lee about the skills of the Chudley Canons' Seeker when a loud noise made us turn our heads to the entrance of the maze – Harry and Cedric were back.

I stood up with the others, cheering with enthusiasm, but soon stopped. Something was wrong. Harry was leaning over Cedric, who laid on the grass, looking very pale. I frowned – was he hurt ? I stretched my neck to try and see what happened, but I soon didn't need to – it only took seconds before the whispers got to us – _he's dead! Cedric Diggory! Dead!_

I stared in horror at the scene. It was like my heart had stopped beating, and the world had stopped turning. I felt George grab my hand, and clench it tightly. I couldn't believe it – it was impossible. _Dead._ He couldn't be. The words turned and twisted in my head. _Dead. Cedric Diggory, dead._ Through the crowd, I could see Harry, holding on tightly to him, not wanting to let go. No, he was simply hurt, or he had fainted, that was all –

"Let me through!"

Someone rushed past us, struggling to make his way through the crowd. My stomach turned.

"That's my son! My boy!"

I squeezed George's hand, hard. Amos Diggory, falling on his knees, crying, screamed his pain at the sky. It was heart-wrenching. I couldn't stand to watch it happen – and took refuge in George's arms. He held me tight. I wish there was something I could have done. But there was nothing to be done.

I kept telling myself that it was impossible, that he couldn't truly be dead, that things like that didn't really happen – they were just stories, weren't they ? But as I saw the look of other people's faces, and as I heard the sobs and the whimpers, and as I heard Amos Diggory, I couldn't lie to myself anymore. It was useless. The harsh truth was there, right in front of me, all around me. Cedric Diggory was dead. And the world suddenly got much darker.

* * *

 _Don't forget to review! x_


	29. vol I : chapter twenty-nine

_Good morning/afternoon/evening :)  
Here is chapter 29. Only one left before the end of Volume I !  
Thank you again for all your wonderful reviews, and all the alerts. I wish I could hug every one of you!  
I hope you like this one. I should post the next chapter soon - with some news.  
Enjoy xx_

* * *

 **wildest dreams  
** VOLUME I **  
**

* * *

 **CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE**

* * *

The silence in the Great Hall was deafening. Never had I seen such a quiet Leaving Feast, in my six years at Hogwarts. Understandably, of course. It had been a few days since, but my heart still felt heavy. I hadn't even known him. I couldn't possibly imagine the pain his family and friends were going through right now. Just thinking about it made my heart ache.

The castle had been very quiet these past few days. There had been no celebrations. Everyone was either in mourning, or respecting the ones who were. Well, truth is – we were all mourning Cedric, in our own way. The day after the task, Dumbledore had asked everyone to leave Harry alone, and not ask him any questions. When I had seen him in the Gryffindor Tower that night, he was very quiet, and very pale. I wanted to tell him that he wasn't alone – but I hoped that he knew that already. The twins and I spent the next days making sure no one would bother him. If we saw someone giving him the wrong look, they would receive a good old Sardine Hex from one of us. It was the least we could do, I thought.

I looked around the Great Hall – the usual drapes representing the House Cup winner had been replaced by black ones. I also took a look at our table. I had never seen the Gryffindors looking so grim. I smiled softly at Angelina, who looked more tired than usual.

"The end of another year" suddenly said Dumbledore.

I turned to him. I was curious to see what his speech would be – would he mention Cedric at all ? His eyes glanced at the Hufflepuff table, who was horribly quiet. There you could see many pales, tired faces, and red, hollow eyes.

"There is much that I would like to say to you all tonight. But I must first acknowledge the loss of a very fine person, who should be sitting here, enjoying the feast with us. I would like you all, please, to stand, and raise your glasses, to Cedric Diggory."

I followed as everyone stood up and raised their glass. I felt horribly sad, still having difficulties to grasp what had happened.

"Cedric was a person who exemplified many of the qualities that distinguish Hufflepuff house. He was a good and loyal friend, a hard worker, he valued fair play."

I nodded – that was very true. In Quidditch, he had always been very diplomatic – not like us.

"His death has affected you all, whether you knew him well or not. I think that you have the right, therefore, to know exactly how it came out."

I stared at Dumbledore, dreading the words he would say.

"Cedric Diggory was murdered by Lord Voldemort."

I already knew, but the words still made me flinch. Ron had told me and the twins a few days before. That was, to me, the worst part of all – because of what it meant. That You-Know-Who was back. The thought sent a chill down my back.

"The Ministry of Magic does not wish me to tell you this. It is possible that some of your parents will be horrified that I have done so – either because they will not believe that Lord Voldemort has returned, or because they think I should not tell you so, young as you are. It is my belief, however, that the truth is generally preferable to lies, and that any attempt to pretend that Cedric died as the result of an accident, or some sort of blunder of his own, is an insult to his memory."

Dumbledore, I thought, had never been more right.

"There is somebody else who must be mentioned in connection with Cedric's death. I am talking, of course, about Harry Potter. Harry Potter managed to escape Lord Voldemort. He risked his own life to return Cedric's body to Hogwarts. He showed, in every respect, the sort of bravery that few wizards have ever shown in facing Lord Voldemort, and for this, I honor him."

We raised our glasses to Harry. I took a moment to look at him. He was so young, and yet he had endured more than some people ever would in their lives. I had always had respect for Harry, but now my admiration was stronger than ever.

"The Triwizard Tournament's aim was to further and promote magical understanding. In the light of what has happened – of Lord Voldemort's return – such ties are more important than ever before."

Without even thinking, I searched for Nik in the crowd. We had had our misunderstandings, it was true, but we still had shared something.

"Every guest in this Hall will be welcomed back here at any time, should they wish to come. I say to you all, once again – in the light of Lord Voldemort's return, we are only as strong as we are united, as weak as we are divided."

I finally spotted him, sitting at the Slytherin table. His eyes met mine. I smiled at him, hoping he would see it. He returned my smile, nodding his head. I promised myself to go and talk to him before he left. There were still things unsaid between us, after all.

"Lord Voldemort's gift for spreading discord and enmity is very great. We can fight it only by showing an equally strong bond of friendship and trust. Differences of habit and language are nothing at all if our aims are identical and our hearts are open. It is my belief – and never have I so hoped that I am mistaken – that we are all facing dark and difficult times. Some of you in this Hall have already suffered directly at the hands of Lord Voldemort. Many of your families have been torn asunder. A week ago, a student was taken from our midst."

I found George's hand beside mine. I liked knowing he was right there, beside me.

"Remember Cedric. Remember, if the time should come when you have to make a choice between what is right and what is easy, remember what happened to a boy who was good, and kind, and brave, because he strayed across the path of Lord Voldemort. Remember Cedric Diggory."

I let out a soft sigh as everyone started to stand up and make their way back to their dorms. How heavy this all felt. I knew Dumbledore was right – that dark times were ahead of us. And I knew that we wouldn't be left alone, but it still scared me. Cedric was gone – many people had lost a friend. I was terrified at the idea of losing mine. What if it had been Harry, or Hermione, or Ginny ? What if it had been Fred ? George ? The simple thought of losing any of them made me feel sick. I shook my head. There was no use of thinking about those things now. I had to keep my head up. Constant vigilance, as a certain professor – who proved himself to be a Death Eater, but well – would have said.

I spent the rest of the morning packing – I never did it until the last minute. I didn't really want to leave Hogwarts. I was excited to see my uncle again, of course, and go with him to South America for a few weeks, but leaving Hogwarts always made me sad. And I only had one year left after this one, too. There was no words to explain how I would miss this place. It was like home, after all. To all of us.

I made sure to go downstairs before the Durmstrang ship left – when I got to the lake, I was worried that I had missed Nik, and that he was already on board, but luckily, I spotted him on the dock.

"Nik !" I shouted.

Fortunately, he heard me, and turned around. I waved at him, before making my way to the dock. He met me halfway, frowning.

"Hey" I said simply.

 _Should've thought about what I wanted to say beforehand._

"Hello, Addy. I'm sorry about your friend."

I didn't bother tell him he wasn't my friend – because as Dumbledore had said, Cedric's death had affected all of us. But I didn't want to talk about that to Nik.

"Thank you. Listen, I… I feel like I owe you an apology."

"For what ?" said Nik, frowning.

I shrugged.

"For being an idiot ?" I suggested with a smile.

Much to my surprise, he smiled, and shook his head.

"You are not an idiot, Addy."

"Well…" I insisted.

We both laughed. I searched for the right words.

"What I want to say is… Even if it didn't work out, I'm still happy I met you, and that I got to know a little bit. You're a good person – I wanted you to know that."

"Thank you, Addy. You're a good person too."

He looked really sincere as he said it. I smiled, feeling very much relieved.

"Can I… hug you ?" I asked, smiling.

"You can" he answered, chuckling.

And so I did.

"Travel safe" I told him when I pulled back. "And write to me, if you want."

"I will. Goodbye, Addy."

"Goodbye, Nik."

I watched him as he walked back to shore and boarded the ship. After I watched it disappear into the black lake, I got back to the castle, joining the others at the train station, feeling ten pounds lighter. I was glad I had decided to go and talk to him. It really was a good thing, closure.

* * *

 _Don't forget to review - you can always also send me your suggestions and questions!_


	30. vol I : chapter thirty

_Hello everyone!_  
 _I hope you enjoy this last chapter! I have some news, so please read the note at the end of it._  
 _Enjoy ! xx_

* * *

 **wildest dreams  
** VOLUME I

* * *

 **CHAPTER THIRTY**

* * *

We had been on the Hogwarts Express for a few hours when Fred, George and I decided to go and walk around the train, just to see if there were some Slytherins around that we could prank. My hope was to find Montague, and give him one last memory of me before the summer, but as we made our way though the train, we found none other than Draco Malfoy and his two favorite gorillas hanging in a compartment with Harry, Ron and Hermione. Malfoy had always been a favorite target of the twins, because he hated Harry so much. However, Harry never really took his revenge – and the twins felt like it was a little bit of their duty to do so. I couldn't agree more.

"You've picked the losing side, Potter ! I warned you ! I told you you ought to choose your company more carefully, remember ? When we met on the train, first day at Hogwarts ? I told you not to hang around with riffraff like this !"

I instantly knew he was talking about Ron and Hermione – and raised my wand at the same time as the twins. Luckily, Malfoy and his friends hadn't even seen us.

"Too late now, Potter ! They'll be the first to go, now the Dark Lord's back ! Mudbloods and Muggle-lovers first ! Well – second – Diggory was the f –"

I was almost blinded by the light of all the spells that seemed to come from everywhere – and half a second later, Malfoy and his friends were laying on the floor, unconscious. I smiled.

"Thought we'd see what those three were up to" said Fred.

He stepped into the compartment, careful to put his feet directly _on_ Goyle. George followed, stepping on Malfoy. I followed their lead, stepping on the last one of them – Crabbe, I thought – but I stayed there, just for fun, and looked down at his face.

"Blimey" I muttered.

He looked quite awful – his face was covered in weird-looking boils.

"Interesting effect. Who used the Furnunculus Curse ?" asked George.

"Me" answered Harry.

"Odd. I used Jelly-Legs. Looks as though those two shouldn't be mixed. He seems to have sprouted little tentacles all over his face. Well, let's not leave them here, they don't have add much to the decor."

"But they're quite comfortable" I said, shrugging.

"I'll find you a better-looking cushion, my dear" said George.

I chuckled, and stepped down from Crabbe's belly to help the others roll the Slytherins out of the compartment.

"Exploding Snap, anyone ?" asked Fred.

We were almost done with our fifth or sixth game – I didn't really count – when Harry put down his cards.

"You're going to tell us, then ? Who you were blackmailing ?"

I glanced at the twins. They had given up on Bagman a week after sending their last letter. I was still mad at the man – but there wasn't much I could do.

"Oh" said George. " _That._ "

"It doesn't matter" shrugged Fred. "It wasn't anything important. Not now, anyway."

"We've given up."

Harry, Ron and Hermione insisted.

"All right, all right, if you really want to know… it was Ludo Bagman."

"Bagman ?" said Harry, clearly shocked. "Are you saying he was involved –"

"Nah" said George. "Nothing like that. Stupid git."

"And a bloody bad liar too" I added.

"He wouldn't have the brains" nodded George.

"Well, what, then ?" asked Ron.

Fred seemed to hesitate.

"You remember that bet we had with him at the Quidditch World Cup ? About how Ireland would win, but Krum would get the Snitch ?"

"Yeah."

"Well, the git paid us in leprechaun gold he'd caught from the Irish mascots."

"So ?"

"So, it vanished, didn't it ? By next morning, it had gone !"

"But – it must've been an accident, mustn't it ?" asked Hermione.

George let out a laugh – I caught his hand, squeezing it lightly.

"Yeah, that's what we thought, at first. We thought if we just wrote to him, and told him he'd made a mistake, he'd cough up. But nothing doing. Ignored our letter. We kept trying to talk to him about it at Hogwarts, but he was always making some excuse to get away from us."

"In the end, he turned pretty nasty. Told us we were too young to gamble, and he wasn't giving us anything."

"So we asked for our money back…"

"He didn't refuse !" said Hermione.

"Right in one" said Fred. "Addy even threatened him. Didn't work."

"But that was all your savings !"

George then told Harry, Ron and Hermione everything about what we had learned about Bagman – his financial troubles with the goblins, how he had a bet on Harry to win the Cup – which we had learned about after the third task – , and how he had run away after that. I shook my head. I was still so frustrated about the whole thing. The twins didn't deserve that. They worked really hard, but it would take months, maybe years to get back what they had saved. I wished they were was something I could do – I was seriously thinking about asking my uncle to loan them so money – at least to help them getting started.

After we had played a few more Exploding Snap games, I left them to go back to our compartment to spend some time with Angelina, Alicia and Lee – I wouldn't be seeing them until next September, after all. The rest of the train ride passed by quickly, and soon, we were pulling into King's Cross station. I took my trunk and got out of the train. My uncle couldn't come and get me at the station – he had tried it once, two years ago, and we had been stuck there for two hours as he signed autographs. So I had to take a taxi to his flat – but usually, Molly took me there by Apparition. I couldn't wait to pass the test this summer – that would become really useful, even if it was incredibly scary.

I said goodbye to Angelina, Alicia and Lee before they made their way to their parents, and starting to search for the twins in the crowd when they suddenly appeared in front of them, grinning from ear to ear.

"We have news" said Fred.

" _Brilliant_ news."

"What ?"

They said nothing – only showed me the sack that George was holding. I raised an eyebrow.

"What's that ?"

" _What's that,_ she asks" chuckled Fred.

"Look inside" said George, handing me the sack.

Frowning, I took the sack, which was a lot heavier than it looked – and opened it. I stared at the gold inside.

"What – that – how – how did you get this ?" I blabbered.

" _Harry gave it to us._ "

"Harry ?" I repeated. "Wait – is that his winnings from the tournament ?"

The twins nodded, eyes blazing. I was speechless.

"He gave you his winnings ?" I said.

"He did."

"All his winnings ? All bloody thousand of it ?"

"He did."

"That's _mental_ !"

"That's what we said" chuckled George.

I couldn't help it – I bursted out laughing.

"That's brilliant !"

"We know. It's all going for the shop, of course" said Fred.

"Of course !" I repeated.

"Weasley Wizard Wheezes isn't dead, after all."

I shook my head. I felt so happy for them – finally, after all that rubbish, something good. It felt incredible. I jumped into their arms, smiling brightly.

"I'm so happy for you !"

We then heard Molly calling the twins, gesturing them that they were leaving. I felt a twinge in my chest.

"We better go" said Fred, rolling his eyes.

"Yeah" I nodded. "I'll see you soon, I hope."

"We'll make it happen" nodded George.

I hugged Fred tightly.

"You'll write to me, won't you ? I know you hate it, but I don't care !"

"Have fun in South America. Don't drink too much of that disgusting Muggle stuff…"

"I'll try not too" I chuckled.

I turned to George, my heart racing. I really didn't want to say goodbye. Not at all.

"I want you to –" started George.

He was interrupted by Fred who sighed loudly.

"I'll leave you lovebirds be. See you around, Adelaide."

"Take care of yourself, Frederick" I said.

I shook my head as he turned around to join the rest of the Weasley family. I felt George's hands grab mine.

"Addy, about your parents –"

I turned to him, eyes wide. I had nearly forgotten about that.

"Don't worry too much about it. You'll be great. They'll love you."

"I hope they do" I smiled softly.

"They will. If they don't – they're as mental as Harry is."

I chuckled.

"Write me everything about it, all right ? I promise to write back this time."

"You better" I said, pulling him closer to me.

I softly kissed him. How I would miss that during the summer. It was almost already unbearable. I then hugged him tightly.

"I'll miss you" I whispered in his ear.

"I'll miss you more."

I smiled, and with a wink, he turned on his heels and joined the other Weasleys. I waved at them, grinning, before they disapparated. I stayed there for a few seconds, staring at the brick wall in front of which they had been standing. What a year it had been. I was still breathless from everything. And I knew that my adventures were far from over – I still had one year left at Hogwarts, after all.

I remembered Dumbledore's words – there were dark times ahead of us, that much was true. But at least, I was far from alone – I had the best people standing beside me. I grabbed my trunk and made my way into the streets of London. There were a lot of things I didn't know. I didn't know if I would even make it through that last year with all the work ahead of me, and I didn't know where my relationship with George would lead us, and I didn't know if the world would still be the same in September. But there was one thing I was sure of.

I couldn't wait for my next adventure.

* * *

 _Here it is - we have reached the end of Volume I !_  
 _This has been incredible. I can't thank you guys enough for your support, your lovely words, your presence. I want to hug all of you! And I have a few things to tell you._

 _1\. Of course, the story is far from over. I am currently revising Volume II, and there will be a Volume III... s_ _o if you guys still want me, if you still want to read Addy's adventures, I'll be here for a long time :)_

 _2\. It may be a while before I start publishing Volume II. I am revising it and it's taking me some time, so it might be two or three weeks before I start publishing it. But fret not, I will publish it if you guys want it ! :)_

 _3\. I have asked you guys before, and I've had some great suggestions, so I'm asking you again - if there's anything you would like to see in future volumes, any suggestions, please send them to me ! And questions, too - I can't promise I'll answer all of them, because I don't want to spoil anything, but I might give you some hints of what's to come._

 _4\. And one last thing. Can you guys please tell me, in the reviews, what you liked the most about Volume I ? What was your favorite moment ? Your favorite line, your favorite plotline ? And also, what did you not like so much ? I want to improve myself, so please tell me what you think. :)  
_

 _Thank you guys again for everything ! I'll see you soon !  
Marianne x_


	31. vol II : chapter one

_I'M BACK!_  
 _Hello guys! I'm so happy to finally be back, and to share with you the continuation of Addy's adventures.  
Sorry it took so long. With work and school, it's been hectic for me._  
 _This second volume should be very interesting - we're now in the Order of the Phoenix era, which is one of my favorites (Umbridge! DA! Fireworks!)._  
 _I am having a lot of fun writing it, so I hope you'll have as much fun reading it._  
 _Here's the first chapter. It is longer than usual - here's why. I usually write shorter chapters, but I realized that I would have way too many of them for this volume (and I wanted to keep it around 30 chapters), so I decided to combine chapters and publish longer ones. Let me know if you prefer this format, or more shorter chapters._  
 _Anyway, I hope you like it. PLEASE review and tell me what you think! I love hearing from you._  
 _Thank you a million times for your support. It means the world to me._

 _Enjoy! x_

 _Ps: I first published this on Tuesday but I think it didn't work properly, for some unknown reason. I hope it will be all right this time!_

* * *

 **wildest dreams  
** VOLUME II

* * *

 **CHAPTER ONE**

* * *

The sky was a pale grey color when the distinct sound of three knocks on the front door echoed in the flat. I lifted my head from my book, unable to stop a grin from spreading on my face.

It had just finished raining. My day had been dull and lonely – like the last few had also been. My uncle had left for his recording studio in Ireland at the beginning of the week. I had planned on going straight to the Burrow after his departure, but when I apparated there to surprise the Weasleys, I had only found an empty house. That had been quite something to see. I had never seen the Burrow empty. So, I wrote a panicked letter to George, who quickly replied, reassuring me that everyone was safe and healthy – only, he could not tell me where they all were, but that now that I was back in England, he would come and get me soon.

So, for the last forty-eight hours, I had been waiting, pacing around the empty, quiet flat of my uncle in the middle of London. It had been a busy July – I travelled across South America with my uncle for three weeks – and I had had a lot of fun, and seen extraordinary things, but now I was getting restless. I really couldn't wait to see the twins again.

So, as soon as I heard the knocks, I threw my book across the room, sprang up from the couch and ran to the door, my heart racing. I opened the door and jumped in the arms of my two best friends, shrieking of excitement at the sight of their familiar ginger hair and matching blue and purple shirts.

"I missed you guys so much!" I said, hugging them tightly.

"Us too, Addy," said the first.

"But you're strangling us," chuckled the other.

I let out a laugh before taking a step back, letting them in the flat. It was only when we all got to the living room that I took a good look at them. I noticed they had cut their hair – which was not a bad thing, if you asked me. I shook my head.

"If you two keep getting taller, I'm going to need a bloody ladder to be able to look at you in the eyes!" I smiled.

"Or you could just stop getting shorter," shrugged Fred.

I gave him a nudge on the arm, smirking. As much as I loved my uncle, and his band, nothing for me beat the company of the twins. I was just so happy to have them close again – they made me feel so free, and invincible, and… loved.

I turned my eyes to George, and I felt butterflies in my stomach. He was smiling at me, the way only he could smile at me. I nearly sighed. How I had missed that handsome face.

"Hey, you," he said.

"Hey, yourself," I answered, unable to stop smiling, blushing like a child.

Fred cleared his throat, obviously feeling that he was intruding.

"I'm gonna go get myself a cuppa," he muttered, rolling his eyes.

"Tea's in the top cabinet," I answered vaguely.

As soon as he was out of sight, George took a step towards me and kissed me fully on the lips. The feeling of him so close, kissing me deep, simply swept me off my feet. I had almost forgotten how amazing that felt – we had been apart for nearly three months, after all, and I had missed him badly. But, oh, did it feel worth the wait now.

"I had missed that," I said when we finally broke the kiss, both breathless.

"I didn't," he replied, a smirk on his lips, stroking my hair.

"Still a bloody idiot, I see."

We shared a laugh, and we kissed again. I wrapped my hands around his waist to pull him close, settling my head on his chest.

"I'm only joking. I missed you. You look beautiful – but…"

"But what?" I blurted out, looking up at him with a frown.

"Am I going mental or is your hair paler?"

I couldn't help it – I bursted out laughing.

"It's because of the sun," I explained. "You know, that big, yellow thing we don't have in England?"

"Oh ! Yeah, rings a bell."

I chuckled.

"You'll have to tell me everything about your trip."

"Don't worry, I will. My uncle brought a camera, so I have a ton of photos to show you –"

"Now, are you two lovebirds finished?" Fred called from the kitchen. "I really don't want to vomit in this delicious cup of tea – by the way, Addy, does your uncle have anything else than Irish Breakfast?"

"No, he doesn't," I answered. "And you can come back, it's safe."

There was suddenly a loud _crack_. Then, Fred appeared right in front of us, sipping his tea. I nearly screamed out of surprise.

"Bloody hell, Fred!" I hissed.

"What?" he shrugged.

I breathed out, trying to calm my heart who was pounding in my chest. I looked up at George, who was smiling in amusement.

"You didn't think of making me one?" he said, staring at his brother.

"It's in the kitchen."

George then disappeared from around my arms and reappeared in the blink of an eye, now with a hot cup of tea in his hands. I rolled my eyes at the smirks on their faces.

"I see you've passed your Apparition tests," I said.

"With mention," they said in unison.

"Didn't you do yours?" asked George.

"Er…"

They stared at me. I bit my lip, looking down at the floor.

"You didn't do it?!" exclaimed Fred.

"I was too scared!" I cried out.

"Addy!" they both said.

I sighed, shaking my head. Of course, they would ask me that. I remembered last year, at Hogwarts, when we were all having our Apparition lessons – Fred and George always seemed to have the time of their lives. Not me – I was constantly afraid of leaving a limb behind. I had practiced a lot, and I had gotten quite good at it, but when it had been time to do the actual test, I simply couldn't do it.

"Don't 'Addy' me!" I said. "I'm not as good as you two are!"

"I thought you had been practicing," said George.

"I had ! I just – I dunno, I wasn't sure…" I said miserably.

Fred kept staring at me like I was mental, but George took a step towards me and put his arm around my shoulders.

"Don't fret, gorgeous," he said. "We'll practice some more, and then we'll go with you and you can take the test before the end of the summer."

Fred nodded frenetically. I sighed – I wasn't really excited at the idea, but I knew I wouldn't be able to escape it if the twins put their mind to it. And now that I saw them apparating like they did, it kind of made me want to be able to do the same.

After I grabbed myself a cup of tea, we sat down in the living room. They wanted to know about South America – but I was more anxious to know why the Weasleys weren't at the Burrow.

"Now, will you tell me what all that bloody mystery is about? Why aren't you staying at the Burrow?"

Fred and George exchanged a look.

"We can't really tell you until we get there," said George.

"Get where?" I asked.

"The place," said Fred.

" _What_ place?"

"You ask a lot of questions, you know that?"

"That's because you aren't giving me any bloody answers!"

"You'll see, Addy. We just have to show you."

"Yeah, we should go. Dinner's going to be ready soon."

Confused, but feeling quite excited and curious, I washed the three cups of tea with a flick of my wand and ran to my room to get my stuff. After rolling my ridiculously heavy Hogwarts trunk in the living room, I slipped my backpack on my shoulders and made sure the flat was locked and that all the lights were off.

"Ready?" asked the twins as they each took one of my hands in theirs.

I nodded, smiling. I was more than ready.

I looked around me, and frowned. We had apparated in the middle of a empty street – behind us was a small park with a few benches, where I could see an old man reading a newspaper – and in front of us, residential buildings. It was very quiet, and very damp from the earlier rain. I noticed that some of the houses in front of us had broken windows. It was not a very reassuring place.

"Where are we, exactly? Are we still in London?" I asked.

"Borough of Islington," nodded Fred.

"And what are we doing in the _Borough of Islington_?"

"Just read this," said George.

He handed me a small piece of parchment, and I took it, intrigued. I read the short sentence, arching an eyebrow.

"What does that even mean? Grimmauld Place, is that here? And what's the Order of the –"

"Just look up, Adds," chuckled George.

Frowning, I looked up from the parchment. When a door popped up from nowhere between houses 11 and 13, I gasped. Walls and windows followed, and soon there was a whole house there, pushing the others in the process. I could only stare in awe.

"Blimey," I whispered.

"Pretty impressive, eh?" said Fred.

He then snatched the parchment from my fingers and set it on fire. I was speechless – so I only walked towards the house, looking at it in wonder. It looked very old – and like no one had been living there for a while.

"Whose house is that?"

"We'll tell you inside. C'mon," said Fred.

After he tapped once on it with his wand, he opened the front door, who let out a small shriek. I followed him inside – and the first thing I noticed, other than the fact that it was very dark, was the smell.

"Ugh! It smells like someone bloody died in here!" I muttered.

"Someone probably did," said George, closing the door behind him.

"Yes, that wouldn't be very surprising," nodded Fred. "C'mon, this way."

Leaving my trunk at the door, Fred led the way through the narrow corridor. The walls were covered in a dusty wallpaper that peeled off in a few places – and we passed what looked like a painting, but that was hidden behind curtains.

"What's under –"

"Shh!"

I raised an eyebrow as I turned to the twins. Both were staring at me with wide eyes, a finger in front of their lips.

"What?" I whispered.

"Best not to talk too loud around here," whispered George back.

"Why?"

"It'll wake her up."

"Wake up who?"

Fred pointed the hidden painting. I frowned, but he muttered something that looked like 'we'll explain later' and kept on walking. Shaking my head, my tongue burning with a hundred questions, I followed him. We finally arrived in front of a door, and next to a staircase. I let out a small gasp.

"Bloody _Merlin_ – are those House-elves heads?"

The twins did not have time to answer as the door in front of us opened to a familiar face.

"Addy, you're here!"

"Molly!"

I grinned as the red-haired woman hugged me tightly.

"How was your summer, darling?" she asked.

"Good, really good, thank you," I smiled.

"I'm sorry we weren't at the Burrow to welcome you. It's been a little hectic around here."

"That's all right. I'm just glad everyone's safe."

"Hello, Addy."

I smiled at Bill, who had appeared behind Molly, his famous fang glistening at his ear.

"Bill! I thought you were in Egypt!"

"No, I got here during the summer. Got a job at Gringotts."

"Really? Are you –"

"All right, good catch up!" suddenly let out Fred behind me. "C'mon Addy, we'll show you upstairs."

I wanted to ask Bill more questions about his new job, but I felt George taking my hand and slowly pulling me towards the stairs. I shook my head, giving Bill an apologetic smile.

"Don't wander off too far, you three," said Molly. "Dinner will be ready soon."

"Thank you, Molly!" I said before following the twins up the stairs.

"Our room's on the third floor," said Fred as we went up.

The house was very quiet, and it seemed like the higher we went, the dustier it was.

"This house is going to need a good clean-up," I muttered.

"Don't say that in front of Mum," chuckled George.

"She's already going mental about it. Wants us to clean everything. It's been _hell_."

We got to the third floor, and Fred opened the first door on the left – which I assumed was their room. I entered, looking around. The wallpaper was a pale green color, and the carpets were so old we could barely see the patterns on them anymore.

"Cozy," I said, sitting down on one of the beds. "So you've been here all summer?"

"Almost," nodded Fred.

"So who's here? You, Molly, Arthur, Bill – and Ron and Ginny, I reckon?"

The twins nodded.

"And Hermione," added Fred.

"And Sirius, of course."

I frowned.

"Sirius? Sirius Black, you mean?"

The twins nodded again. I stared back at them.

"It's his house," explained George. "Well, his family's house."

"They've been using it as the headquarters for the Order, because it's got all those spells and safelocks that protects it – it can't be found if you don't know where it is."

"And what is that – the Order of the Phoenix?"

"It's a secret society, founded by Dumbledore ages ago."

"They created it during the First War against You-Know-Who, to find a way to destroy him. And now they're back at it."

I hadn't been expecting all of this – but I couldn't say I was surprised. After all, everyone knew You-Know-Who was back. Not everyone believed it, but those people were complete nutters, if you asked me. I remembered the look on Harry's face last year. There was no way in hell he was lying.

"Woah," I let out. "So who's a part of it?"

"Lots of people, really," shrugged Fred.

"There's Mum and Dad, Bill, Sirius…

"…Professor Lupin…"

"…Mad-Eye Moody…"

"Tonks –"

"Tonks? Who's that?" I asked.

Fred and George grinned.

"She's an Auror. She learned under Mad-Eye, and all," said George.

"She's a metamorphmagus, too. You'll have to ask her to show you her duck impression. Quite brilliant."

"She went to Hogwarts with Charlie – she was in Hufflepuff, but he remembered her. We'll have to tell you some of the stuff he told us she did – she's hilarious."

I smiled. I couldn't wait to meet her.

"Is Charlie here?" I asked.

"Na, he's still in Romania," said George. "Dumbledore asked him to try and get as many foreign wizards as possible to help the cause."

Fred and George spent the next hour bringing me up to date about everything that had happened – how Snape was part of the Order, how Harry was still in the dark about everything, how Percy had acted like a real git, and how Molly kept refusing to let the twins – or anyone – join the Order.

"Maybe _you_ can convince her," sighed Fred.

"I don't think anyone can convince Molly of anything once her mind's set," I chuckled. "So how do you know everything about what's happening if you can't go to the meetings?"

The twins grinned, and I immediately understood.

"Bloody hell! With all this, I was forgetting about them! Show them to me, c'mon!"

The twins had been telling me about their new Extendable Ears all summer, and I was really excited to finally see and try them. We therefore spent the rest of the time before dinner looking at everything they had worked on. The Snackboxes were nearly done – they were only missing a few ingredients to complete them. The twins had already worked out how they would sell them at Hogwarts, and talked to me about how they were thinking of hiring students to test their products on. As always, I was amazed at how creative, determined and smart they were about their business. I knew how important it was to them, but I was really excited to see it grow, and slowly become something real. Soon enough, Weasley Wizard Wheezes would be famous all around England, I was sure of it.


	32. vol II : chapter two

_Good morning!  
Here's a new chapter! This one's shorter, but that's just because the next one is a big one - you'll see why at the end.  
I decided that I will **try** to update this story weekly, so every Saturday morning. I won't promise anything but I'll try!  
Thank you for all the love on the previous chapter! There are so many of you out there that read this story, so THANK YOU!  
I would like to especially thank ForeverTeamEdward13, Hummelberry94, Magical-Hufflepuff, Katkloss, poicalepl, sarahmichellegellarfan1, BigBangVIP & the lovely Chaparrita for reviewing! (btw, you should check out Chaparrita's Fred/OC story, it's quite good!). _

_I hope you like this one!  
Enjoy x_

* * *

 **wildest dreams  
** VOLUME II

* * *

 **CHAPTER TWO**

* * *

Right before seven, we heard Molly's voice in the staircase, calling us to dinner. I stood up from the bed, and opened the door.

"See you down there, Adds," I heard Fred say behind me.

I frowned, but before I could say anything, the two of them Disapparated with a loud _crack_.

"Addy!" said a familiar voice.

I turned to see Ginny standing in the hallway.

"Hi, Gin!" I smiled.

I hugged her, happy to see her again. I noticed that she was definitely taller than the last time I saw her – but all the Weasleys were quite tall, after all, so it wasn't very surprising.

"Where are Fred and George?" she asked.

"They just –"

Suddenly, we heard yelling coming down from downstairs – definitely Molly's voice. Ginny glanced at me, clearly amused.

"Mum makes a fuss everytime they Apparate in the house – says they shouldn't 'abuse their new privilege' and all. In a way, I reckon she's right – it's not like walking _down_ the stairs is hard, but at the same time, it's always quite funny to see her yell at them," she said.

I laughed, and we started going the stairs.

"So have you met everyone?" asked Ginny.

"I haven't met anyone at all, actually," I said.

"Well, I think Tonks is here tonight, so I can introduce you to her! You'll love her, I'm sure."

"That's what Fred and George told me."

"She's brilliant. And real funny, too. And she comes for dinner all the time – I think it's because she fancies Professor Lupin."

I glanced at Ginny, eyebrow raised.

"What? Really?"

"It's just the way she looks at him. You'll understand when you see it."

"And what about him? Does he fancy her too?"

Ginny shrugged as she pushed the door to the kitchen.

"I don't think he has a clue."

The kitchen was very well lit in comparison of the rest of the house. It was also very busy, as almost every seat at the long table was taken. There were a lot of familiar faces – Molly, Arthur, Bill, Ron, Hermione, Lupin – but also a few not so familiar ones. I only had time to wave to Professor Lupin when I felt Ginny grab my sleeve and lead me to a young woman with bright pink hair.

"Tonks," she said to the woman.

"Hi, Ginny!"

Tonks had a beautiful smile, and seemed very dynamic and welcoming – I instantly liked her.

"I just wanted to introduce you to Addy. She just got here today."

"Oh, hi! You're the twins' friend, right?"

I nodded, smiling in amusement.

"That's me! It's really nice to meet you."

"Likewise. I mean, you have to tell me how you do it."

"How I do what?" I asked, frowning.

"How you handle those two nutters," she chuckled.

I let out a laugh, and opened my mouth to answer but a voice interrupted me.

"Nutters?"

"Talking about us, by any chance?" said another voice.

I rolled my eyes as Fred and George came to stand on each side of me.

"We're curious, Addy," said Fred.

"How would you say you've 'handled us' all these years?"

I glanced at Tonks, who seemed quite amused by the situation. I shrugged.

"Three things: patience, getting good at pretending I listen to everything you say and… patience."

Tonks and Ginny laughed – I simply smirked, as the twins rolled their eyes.

"And which one are you dating?"

"This one," I said, pointing at George, grabbing his hand.

Tonks let out a whistle.

"You're quite fast at telling them apart."

"Years of practice," I replied, chuckling.

"I bet there's a trick," said Tonks with a smirk.

"There is, but I'll tell you when it's just the two of us – I don't want to offend anyone…"

Tonks nodded.

"What is that supposed to mean?!" exclaimed Fred beside me.

"Yeah, what is that supposed to mean?" repeated George, who looked a little pale.

"Nothing."

I only shrugged, and Tonks winked at me – it seemed like we really understood each other. I knew we would get along well – the twins and Ginny had been right.

"May I interrupt?" asked a voice behind me.

I turned around, and came face to face with none other than Sirius, Harry's godfather. He looked nothing like the pictures of him I had seen in the Daily Prophet two years ago – he looked so kind, and calm.

"Of course," I said with a smile. "You must be Sirius."

"In the flesh. And you must be Adelaide."

"Oh – Addy, please. It's very nice to finally meet you. I've heard a lot about you."

"Only the good things, I hope."

I nodded, with a chuckle. He reminded me of Fred and George in a curious way – maybe it was the sparkle in his eyes, or something in his smile.

"Well, thank you so much for having me. I really appreciate it."

"You're very welcome – anything I can do to help."

As he nodded once again and walked back to his seat, the only thing I could think of was – how did he ever end up in Azkaban ? It was so cruel. And even after that, he managed to keep his smile and his kindness. He was a truly remarkable man in my eyes.

Then, Molly asked us to sit down for dinner, and I took my place in front of the twins, between Ginny and Tonks, who I couldn't help but ask everything about her abilities and her career as an Auror.

I also finally asked Bill about his new job at Gringotts, and learned from Fred and George that he had made a new 'friend' there – the one and only Fleur Delacour. During dessert, Hermione came to sit with me to talk about her OWLS, and we only went back upstairs around ten.

After I had taken a shower and changed into my pyjamas, I visited the twins to tell them goodnight. They were both still dressed, looking over some slips for Weasley Wizard Wheezes.

"What's up with you?" asked Fred as I threw myself on George's bed, growling in pain.

"I feel awful. I ate _way_ too much."

"Don't feel guilty for that, Adds," said George.

"I don't feel guilty at all – like, I _will_ eat a hundred pancakes in one sitting and not feel ashamed – I mean I _really_ feel awful. My belly hurts."

"Maybe a Puking Pastile would help."

I glared at Fred, who seemed to think he was being hilarious. I was going to tell him to shut it when George laid down beside me, kissing me softly.

"Does that make you feel better?" he asked.

"A bit. But I reckon another one would do the trick," I said with a smirk.

"You know what? I don't think I'll ever need a Puking Pastile in my life. I just need to look at you both when you're snogging, that's more than enough."

I bursted out laughing, and reached up to throw him the pillow beside me. He answered with a 'oi!' but I ignored him. I turned back to George, whose hand was now on my hip, stroking my skin softly. I grabbed his other hand and started playing with his fingers.

"You haven't told us about your parents, yet," he said softly.

I looked down at our connected hands – with everything that had happened today, I had almost forgotten about _that_ part of my summer. I shrugged, honestly not knowing what to say.

"It went all right."

"All right?"

"Yeah. I dunno. It was… it was weird. Not really what I had pictured."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

I shrugged again.

"I guess I do. I just – I haven't really figured it out myself."

"We can help you, maybe" said Fred from the other bed.

I sat up on the bed, rubbing my eyes.

"He's right, Adds," softly said George. "We can help you figure it out."

I took a deep breath. I had tried so hard to push away the memory, just because it frightened and confused me – diving right back into it didn't seem like a good idea. But it _was_ Fred and George. Maybe they really could help me. So I nodded, took a deep breath again, and told them everything.


	33. vol II : chapter three

_Hello everyone!_  
 _Here is this week's chapter! In this one you will meet Addy's parents! How excitinggggg :)_  
 _I hope you will like it. I am a bit nervous about it so please tell me what you think._  
 _Thank you to everyone who reviewed and put this story on alerts. I am so grateful for your support!_  
 _Enjoy xx_

* * *

 **wildest dreams  
** VOLUME II

* * *

 **CHAPTER THREE**

* * *

 _Three months earlier_

It was very windy that day. I had left Hogwarts two weeks ago – and already felt nostalgic. But it was probably only because I felt more nervous that I had ever been before. I hadn't been able to sleep at all. My muscles ached, my hands were curled up into fists, my legs jittery and weak. I felt sick. Today was the day. _Today was the day I met my parents._

Their names were like two haunting sounds in my mind – Sophia and Connor Harlowe. It almost didn't feel real. We shared a surname, but the names were so unfamiliar. The names of two strangers. The knot in my stomach kept on tightening during my journey on the train. I rarely used Muggle Transportation – but since I didn't have my Apparition license, and that my uncle had had a concert the night before and was sleeping soundly, it was the only option I had.

I got off the train and headed for the address scribbled on the parchment in my right pocket. I had read the few words so often they were burned in my mind : 145, Agretto Road, London. I had never been in that area of London before, but it was very nice and quiet. I glanced at the houses as I walked – brick walls, flower beds, green, freshly cut grass. There were children playing some sort of sport in the streets, carrying wooden sticks. I finally got to number 145, and inhaled slowly.

It took everything in me to knock. One, two, three times. _Breathe in, breathe out._ Not five seconds later, the door opened. It was like the air had been knocked out of my lungs.

"Er – hello," I said, my voice sounding much higher than usual.

"Hi," said the man in front of me.

"I'm – er… I'm Addy."

He nodded, like he already knew. I smiled awkwardly as he stared at me. It was odd that his face looked so familiar and unfamiliar at the same time. The curly, brown hair, the pale, blue eyes that looked so much like my own – I had never seen this face before, and yet it was like I had known it my entire life.

"Of course. I'm Connor. I'm – I'm your father."

 _Oh, bloody hell_. That was so weird. So, so weird. I couldn't help but let out a nervous laugh. He smiled at that, and opened the door wider.

"Please, come in."

"Thank you."

I entered the small house, and he closed the door behind me. I glanced around. It was simple, but pretty – and it smelled like lavender.

"Sophia, she's here."

Sophia. My mother.

Not a second later, she appeared in the hall, a bright smile on her face. For a second, I was confused. It was like looking at an older, shorter version of me. The same golden hair. The same pale skin. The same small mole on the right cheek.

"Hello, sweetheart. Thank you so much for coming to see us" she said, stopping next to her husband, who stroked her arm.

"Thank you for having me," I replied simply.

"Would you like to sit down?"

"Sure."

They led me to the living room, where stood two couches, a fireplace and a big, wide black object. I stared at it curiously, but decided it was best not to ask. I sat down one of the couches, facing the two of them. I smiled awkwardly again.

"You have a lovely house," I said quietly.

"Oh, thank you. It's our friend's house – they're letting us stay while they're on vacation. Until we find our own place, of course," explained Sophia.

"Have you been in England long?"

"Just a few weeks."

I nodded. There was a short silence. I suddenly felt like sinking six feet underground.

"So, er – you were in America, right?"

They both nodded.

"Yeah, you have the accent," I said with a nervous chuckle.

"Oh, do we?" giggled Sophia. "That's funny, because all our American friends tell us we still have our British accents."

I smiled at her amusement, not feeling very amused myself. I strangely felt out of place.

"Would you like some tea?" asked Sophia.

"Oh – yes, thank you."

She nodded, smiling softly before standing up and disappearing in what was probably the kitchen. I looked down at my own hands – and realized they were shaking. I quickly joined them, pulling them tightly together, hoping neither of them had noticed.

"Am I going crazy, or can I hear a hint of a Scottish accent in your voice?"

I glanced at Connor. He looked curious. I cleared my throat.

"Er – yeah. I grew up with my uncle's band – er, Myron, I mean, Myron's band – and half of them are Irish you see, three are Scottish and the rest are English. So I like to think that I inherited a little of everybody's accent… which makes mine quite weird at times."

"It think it sounds beautiful."

It sounded so genuine, I couldn't help but smile.

"Thank you," I muttered.

"How is he? Myron?"

"He's good. He had a few concerts in London this week, but we're leaving this weekend for South America. We're going to be traveling for a bit."

"South America? That sounds like fun."

I nodded, still smiling. As Sophia re-entered the room, carrying a tray with three mugs and a teapot, I felt myself relaxing a little. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad, after all.

"Sugar and milk?" she asked.

"A little of both," I nodded.

She soon handed me one of the cups – I thanked her quietly with a 'cheers', sipping the tea slowly as they prepared their own cups. She took it black – he, only with milk.

"So, Adelaide…" started Sophia.

I held my tongue – my name sounded good coming from them.

"… you're seventeen now, aren't you?"

"I am."

"That's a big year, isn't it? For – hum… for wizards."

I noticed how her voice had trembled at the last word. I glanced at Connor – he was looking down at his tea. _Blimey._

"It is," I replied. "It's – er – it's the year we come of age. When we can finally do magic outside of school."

"You can't do ma - magic before you're seventeen?" asked Sophia.

"Only at Hogwarts."

As I took a sip of my tea, I saw their confused faces. That's when I understood – they really didn't know anything about our world. Nothing at all.

"That's – that's our school. Where we learn, er… well, basically everything."

"And are you still in school?" asked Connor.

"Yeah. Next year's my last, though."

"Oh."

"Yeah. It's a bit weird. Because we go to Hogwarts for such a long time – I mean, we're there from September to June every year for seven years. It's basically home. And leaving, it's just… It's weird."

Silence followed my words. I didn't really know why I had told them that – it was just how I felt. But clearly, they had no idea how to respond to it.

"And – hum, have you got any plans for after school?"

I nodded, slightly relieved that Sophia had broken the awkward silence.

"Of course. I want to work at the Ministry of Magic – that's kind of our government, in a way. I've wanted to work at the Department of Magical Law Enforcement my whole life."

"Law? So you want to be a lawyer?"

I had heard the word in my Muggle Studies class – so I knew what it was. I nodded.

"Yeah. A bit like a lawyer."

"Oh!" exclaimed Sophia.

I frowned – she seemed a little shaken.

"What is it?" I asked, nervous.

"It's nothing, my dear – it's just… My father – your grandfather. He was a lawyer, too."

I stared back at her – oh, well. So that's where my love for law was coming from. I let out an amused chuckle. I couldn't hold back the next question.

"Where is he now? Could I meet him?"

The looks they gave me told me everything before they did.

"I'm sorry, Adelaide, but I'm afraid that's not possible. He passed away a few years ago," said Connor.

"Oh – I'm sorry."

"It's all right. I'm sure he would have loved to meet you."

I gave Connor a little smile. My grandfather. A hundred questions burned my tongue. What about my grandmother? Did I have other uncles? Aunts? Cousins? Did I have a whole family out there, that didn't know who I was, that I would maybe never meet?

"So, last year at school… do you have exams? A-Levels, or anything of the sort?"

I had no idea what A-Levels were – but I didn't have the heart to ask. Despite the fact that I had just drank an entire cup of tea in a matter of seconds, my throat felt dry.

"We have exams," I nodded. "We have them in our fifth and last year. They're all right, just very nerve-racking. I nearly fainted during a Charms class, two years ago, my boyfriend and his brother are still making fun of me because of it –"

"You have a boyfriend?" interrupted Sophia.

I smiled. Thinking about George already made me feel better.

"Yeah. His name's George."

"How long have you two been together?"

"It's been… six months? Yeah, about six months."

"That's wonderful. How did you two meet?"

"On the train. We were going back from Hogwarts to London for the holidays, and he and his twin, Fred, hid in my compartment because they had put Scratching Powder on the driver's seat."

I laughed at the memory.

"They locked the compartment door with a spell they had read in a book – only, they couldn't remember how to unlock it, so we were stuck in there for the whole ride. So we talked, and seven years later, here we are."

"What a beautiful story. Does he –"

And then we talked. We talked for a good hour, it seemed. About everything, anything. I told them about George, and Fred, and Angelina. I told them about Charms class, and Potions. I told them about Quidditch and my love for it. I told them about Weasley Wizard Wheezes, and about Dumbledore, and about the Hogwarts Express. They listened, smiled. They didn't say much. But they were listening, at least.

And then, we were suddenly interrupted by a loud, aggressive noise, that echoed all around us. I jumped in surprise, looking around me, searching for the source of the noise. Connor stood up without a word and disappeared in the hallway.

"It's the phone," explained Sophia.

"Oh."

Hermione had told me about those – and about the time Ron had tried to call Harry at his aunt and uncle's house. That story had had me in tears of laughter. Connor came back into the room not a minute later, looking nervous.

"Who was it?" asked Sophia.

"It's Billy. The truck is acting up again, they need me."

There was a short silence – and then, both of their eyes landed on me. I felt myself blush furiously.

"I'm sorry, Adelaide. It's work. I need to go."

"Oh! No, no - right, of course! Of course, you need to go. I'll – I'll be on my way."

Silence fell as I settled my cup on the small table in front of me and stood up, soon followed by Sophia.

"I'm really sorry…" started Connor.

"It's all right. Don't apologize, I understand."

I smiled, breathing out as I walked towards the front door.

"Are you good to get back?" asked Sophia.

"Yeah, thank you. For the tea, and… and everything."

"Of course. Come back anytime you want, darling."

"Yes – you're very welcome here."

"Thank you. I'll write."

"Please do."

They nodded, smiling. So I nodded too. I smiled too.

"Cheers. All right."

I opened the front door, stepped out in the cold rain.

"See you soon."

"Good luck at school."

The door closed. And that was it.

"' _Good luck at school'_ ?" repeated the twins.

I nodded slowly, the sound of the door closing abruptly still resonating in my head.

"Gits," said Fred.

"They're not gits," I sighed.

"Yes, they are" he insisted. "'Good luck at school' ? It was only July, Addy. They still had two whole months to see you before you went back to Hogwarts – clearly, they didn't want to…"

"And you don't think I know that already ? I know what it meant, Fred!"

There was a silence. I felt George's hand squeeze mine.

"Did they write to you?" he asked.

I shook my head.

"No. I did, though. Right when I got back. Still haven't got an answer."

I could hear that door closing, again, and again, and again.

"Well, in that case… I'm sorry, Adds, but Fred's right. They're gits."

I sighed again.

"I know that's not what you want to hear, but it's the truth. I mean, they had you right there, in front of them! If they couldn't see what they've been missing out – if they couldn't see how smart and interesting you are – I mean, if they couldn't see that, well they're bloody mental. My point is, who could meet you and then not want more of you?"

I closed my eyes. The tears were burning. I let them fall.

"Hey, don't cry. Bloody hell – I didn't mean to make you cry."

I shook my head, hiding my face in my hands.

"I'm sorry," I whimpered, unable to stop the tears.

"Don't apologize."

I felt his arms around me, holding me tight, holding me so I didn't fall apart. Soon, I heard Fred standing up from his bed, and sitting down on the other side of me – he took my hand, and squeezed it hard.


	34. vol II : chapter four

_Hello everyone!_  
 _Sorry I couldn't upload yesterday, I was working. But here's this week's chapter!_  
 _Again, thank you to everyone who reviewed, I really do appreciate it. Please keep doing so! My inspiration is fueled by your comments:)_  
 _Also, I would like to wish Happy Thanksgiving to my fellow Canadians, and to my American readers! I hope you all have a great weekend!_  
 _Enjoy xx_

* * *

 **wildest dreams  
** VOLUME II

* * *

 **CHAPTER FOUR**

* * *

I woke up very early the next morning. The room was still dark, but I could see the faded colors of dawn piercing through the used, dusty curtains. Stretching slowly, I stood up, grabbed my robe and walked to the door, trying not to wake Ginny and Hermione who were still deep asleep. I closed the bedroom door behind me, rubbing my eyes. The house was very quiet.

I made my way downstairs, hoping the creaking sound of the stairs under my feet would not wake up someone, and set for the kitchen where I made myself a cup of tea. As I waited for it to cool down to the perfect temperature, I started walking around the house, which I hadn't explored much the day before. I passed in front of the portrait in the hall again, and bent down to read the small inscription at the bottom : Walburga Black. Fred and George had told me she was Sirius' mother, and quite an unpleasant woman as well.

I went back up on the first floor, passing the room where I had slept, and a few other bedrooms where, no doubt, Arthur, Molly and Bill slept. Only one of the doors was slightly open – curious, I pushed it gently and entered the large room. It was the most luminous area in the whole house – the long windows, which didn't have any curtains, let the early sun fill the entire room. I first noticed the large fireplace at the end of the room – and then, the tapestry.

It was huge – it covered the whole wall facing the windows. It took me a few seconds to figure out that it portrayed a tree, with names and faces on the branches. As I walked alongside it, I saw an inscription – "The Noble and Most Ancien House of Black" –, a large crest, and a smaller inscription. I frowned as I tried to read what it said.

" _Toujours pur,_ " I read aloud, not sure of what it meant.

"It's French," suddenly said a voice.

I gasped in surprise, nearly dropping my mug as I spun around. Sirius was smiling gently, standing in the doorway.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to scare you."

"It's all right. I just – I thought I was the only one awake."

"So did I."

He approached slowly, his eyes turning to the tapestry. I frowned as I saw the look on his face. He looked very sad, and very angry at the same time. I didn't know much about Sirius' story – only that he had been wrongly imprisoned in Azkaban and that he was an old friend of Harry's father.

"What does it mean ?" I asked, pointing the French phrase.

"It means 'always pure','" said Sirius, giving me a small smile. "My family thought having pure blood gave you some kind of right on those who don't."

"I'm guessing you didn't agree with that," I replied.

He let out a small chuckle, pointing a black area of the tapestry. Underneath, I read 'Sirius'.

"I didn't. That's why I left."

"You left? Your family, you mean?"

"When I was sixteen. I couldn't stand to live with them anymore. They valued everything I was against."

"Where did you go?" I asked, curious.

"I went to live with the Potters. They were my real family, in a sense. Sometimes, blood doesn't mean anything. But I have a feeling you already know that."

I looked at him, feeling the knot in my stomach tighten. He was smiling very calmly, but I couldn't find the strength to smile back. _My real family._ As I glanced again at the tapestry, and at the burned area above 'Sirius'. He was right. Blood didn't mean anything – family was about more than that. It was about love, and care for each other. I felt Sirius' hand on my shoulder – he squeezed it gently, and I turned to him.

"I'll get an early start on breakfast. Want to give me a hand ?"

I nodded slowly, finally being able to smile back. I followed him downstairs, and we started cooking breakfast, as he told me some stories about his time at Hogwarts. Soon, the knot in my stomach was gone, and I found myself laughing whole-heartedly at his stories.

"It's not like we _wanted_ to make his head blow up, really, it just sort of happened…"

"Yeah, of course it did," I chuckled, taking the Cheeri Owls boxes out of the pantry. "I can't believe Professor Lupin would do something like that."

"Well, you know – he was the good student, most of the time, but he could be quite surprising. I remember how angry McGonagall was at us," said Sirius, shaking his head. "Well – when was she not ?"

"That's exactly how it is with Fred and George," I said. "It's like she knows that there's no point in stopping being angry – because they will always end up doing something stupid that will make her angry again."

Sirius chuckled as he cracked an egg in a bowl. I was about to ask him to tell me more stories when Molly entered the kitchen.

"Dear goodness! What are you two doing up so early?"

She was already dressed, and obviously very surprised to see us here.

"We thought you could use a hand with breakfast, Molly," said Sirius.

"Oh, that's very nice of you, dears. Addy, could you bring some tea to Arthur? He's upstairs."

"Of course, Molly."

When I went upstairs, I found not only Arthur, but also Bill and Hermione. After saying good morning to everyone, I went back to help Molly with the rest of breakfast – and soon enough, everyone was sitting at the long table, enjoying eggs, porridge, bacon and cereals. Ron was the last one to arrive, his eyes still full of sleep as he sat down without a word.

After breakfast, and after helping Ginny with the dishes, I went to change into a pair of jeans and black t-shirt and went to the twins' room. We had only been talking for a few minutes when Molly came in, asking us to get to work immediately. We spent the rest of the day cleaning up one of the bedrooms upstairs, which was infested with doxys.

The next few day passed without any incident. Everyday, I woke up and went to help Molly with breakfast, and then spent the day cleaning the house with the others. One day, Ginny heard from Bill that there was going to be a meeting of the Order, but when Fred and George tried to use their Extendable Ears to hear what was happening, Molly discovered them and made a real fuss about it. I tried to convince her that we were old enough – of age, even – to join, but she wouldn't hear it.

On the second of August, sometime around ten at night, I was sitting with the twins in their room, working on some slips for Weasley Wizard Wheezes, when we heard yells coming from downstairs. Exchanging a look, we all stood up and ran outside, to the bottom of the stairs, where the hallway. We walked downstairs, where we found Ron and Hermione. Ginny came running right after us.

"What's happening?" I asked them.

There were loud voices downstairs, that sounded like they were arguing – something, clearly, was wrong.

"It's Harry," said Hermione quietly.

"Harry? What do you mean?" asked Ginny, eyes wide.

"Something about underage use of magic," said Ron. "Dumbledore's furious."

"Dumbledore's here?" said Fred and George in unison.

Just as I was about to ask when he arrived, the director of Hogwarts appeared in the hallway, where we could clearly see him. He was followed closely by Arthur.

"We have to go, Arthur, now!" said Dumbledore in a loud, terrifying voice.

I had never seen him like this – he walked quickly, his eyebrows frowned in fury – Dumbledore was always so calm, after all. I stared as he opened the door so brutally it bounced on the wall next to it with a loud _bang._ Arthur followed him, closed the door, and soon we could hear the familiar _crack_ when they Disapparated.

"Bloody hell," said Ron.

"That was mental," sighed Fred.

"I've never seen Dumbledore so angry," nodded George.

"Something bad must've happened," said Hermione, shaking her head.

We all exchanged a look, and Ginny lead the way to the dining room, where we found Molly, Bill and Sirius. The latter was writing quickly on a piece of parchment.

"Mum, what is happening?" asked Ginny.

Molly looked very tired as she sat down slowly.

"Did something happen to Harry?" said Hermione, her voice shaking slightly.

"No, nothing's happened to him. Nothing bad" said Bill.

"What, then?" asked the twins.

Bill sighed, passing a hand on his face.

"Dung was watching him tonight – but he left his post earlier than he was supposed too."

"That prat," muttered Ron next to me.

"By the time he was gone, Harry was attacked by Dementors."

I stared at Bill with wide eyes. Dementors, in London? The world really was going mental.

"Is he all right?" asked Ginny.

"He's fine, but he had to use the Patronus Charm to chase them away – and of course, the Ministry heard about it, and –"

"They expelled him from Hogwarts?" finished Hermione, who was looking very pale.

"They did."

"They can't do that!" I exclaimed.

"He was just defending himself!" nodded Ginny.

Bill gave us a little smile.

"I know. Dumbledore's taking care of it. Don't worry, Harry will be fine."

"Is he still with those awful Muggles?" asked Fred.

"He is, for now. It's safer."

Next to us, Sirius stood up, the piece of parchment carefully folded in his hands. I could see the worry in his eyes as he passed next to us in a hurry.

"There's not much we can do for now, dears," suddenly said Molly.

She looked very calm, but her voice was shaky.

"All of you should go back to bed. We'll have more news tomorrow morning."

"But, Mum –"

"I don't want to hear it Ginny. All of you, to bed, now."

We knew there was no use in arguing with Molly now – and besides, I knew she was right. There was nothing to do but wait for more news, and that probably wouldn't come until the next morning. So we all went upstairs, but instead of going in our own rooms, we all went into the twins' room and sat on their beds.

"It's mental" I sighed, settling my head on George's shoulder. "All of it."

"What I'm really wondering is… what were Dementors doing so far away from Azkaban?" asked Hermione. "They never leave the prison, don't they?"

"They're not supposed too," nodded Fred.

"But they did anyway. The question is, why?" said George.

"Maybe someone sent them."

Ginny had spoken quietly – we all turned to her.

"Don't look at me like that! It's completely possible! I mean, You-Know-Who's back, what if he can control them?"

"And what, you think You-Know-Who would send Dementors after Harry? If he knows where is, why not go himself?" said Ron.

"Maybe he's not strong enough to do that," said Hermione.

Suddenly, there was a loud noise coming from the window. Hermione let out a small shriek.

"What _was_ that?"

We all turned to the window. The curtains were pulled. Since I was closest to it, I stood up and opened them slightly. I immediately recognized the owl that stood on the other side.

"It's Hedwig!" I exclaimed excitedly, opening the window to let her in.

She flew across the room and settled on Hermione's leg. The latter, frowning, looked at the owl.

"She's carrying something," said Ginny.

But Hermione had already seen it and was carefully unwrapping the small piece of parchment.

"What does it say?" asked Fred.

"It's from Harry. He says that he's been attacked by Dementors and might be expelled from Hogwarts. He – oh…"

"What?" blurted out Ginny.

"He wants to know what is going on and when he's 'getting out of here'…"

There was a short silence.

"Poor Harry," I muttered, squeezing George's hand.

"I can't blame him," said George. "Nobody's told him anything."

"And he _is_ the one who saw You-Know-Who return," agreed Fred.

"Dumbledore must have a good reason for not letting us writing to him," said Hermione.

"Well he better change his mind after tonight. He's been attacked by bloody _Dementors_!" said Ginny through gritted teeth.

"I'm sure he will. I mean, Dumbledore's mental, but he isn't _that_ mental. He'll see that Harry isn't safe there anymore," nodded Ron.

We all talked for another ten minute or so before we all agreed to go to bed. It took me a long time to fall asleep, and when I did, I only dreamt of an army of Dementors chasing me.


	35. vol II : chapter five

_Hello everyone!  
_ I am terribly sorry I haven't updated these past few weeks. Midterms were really hard on me.  
I will try to post two chapters this week to make up for it.  
I hope you guys like this one! It was very fun to write. Please tell me what you think!  
Thank you for all your alerts and favorites, and of course your reviews. You guys are so lovely! 3  
Enjoy xx

* * *

 **wildest dreams  
** VOLUME II

* * *

 **CHAPTER FIVE**

* * *

The next day, I spent the entire morning skimming through my book about Magical Law – my uncle had bought me one a few years ago. I looked for anything related to underage use of magic, and expulsion from Hogwarts. Arthur had told us that Dumbledore had been able to negociate a hearing for Harry – that was very good news. Harry had just been defending himself – his case looked good. I felt confident for him.

After lunch, Molly sent me and the twins to start cleaning up one of the bedrooms upstairs. The room was incredibly dark when we entered.

"Hmm" said Fred, looking around. "Looks like a fun one."

"Indeed, Gred. Best day of my life," added George.

I walked to the window – there was a small space between the two curtains, where we could see outside. I glanced down at the street – an elder couple was taking a walk.

"What does Molly want us to do here, exactly?" I asked.

"She just said to clean the room," shrugged Fred.

"Yeah, well, if you ask me," said George. "It would be a lot easier to just burn the whole thing down."

I turned to the curtains, laughing, and opened them wide mindlessly, not thinking one second about the possibility that something might be hiding in there.

"Not to mention – Addy, don't!"

But it was already too late – about a dozen Doxys came flying out of the curtains, and directly at me. I screamed in terror, instinctively hiding my face. I could feel them all around me, their distinctive buzzing sound echoing in my ears.

"Get them off!" I yelled.

Fred and George came running – I heard the two of them yell a spell – and a few seconds later, the Doxys were all frozen in the air around me. George grabbed my arm and pulled me to him, away from the small creatures.

" _Bloody_ hell!" I breathed out, my heart racing. "I hate those things!"

"What were you thinking, opening those curtains like that?" said Fred, eyes wide.

"I don't know!"

"You're mad! You are absolutely, utterly –"

"Fred," quietly said George.

"What?!" exclaimed his brother, obviously almost as shaken as I was.

"Fred – d'you see what I see?"

Fred looked at the direction George was staring at. Then, both of them smiled. Out of breath, I glared at them.

"What are you two looking so bloody happy about? I've just been _attacked_!"

"Adds…"

"You're a genius."

"What?!" I asked, dumbfounded.

"Look."

George had to point at the small, black things for me to see them. I narrowed my eyes, frowning.

"What are those?" I asked.

"Doxy eggs."

"Doxy eggs?" I repeated.

"Doxy eggs."

Fred and George looked like they had just received the best news of their life.

"And what is so exciting about Doxy eggs? They look bloody disgusting."

"They are," said Fred with a grin.

"But they're also very useful."

"For what?"

"Didn't you hear about Connor Goligthy?"

I frowned, unable to stop my heart from racing in my chest. I felt oddly out of breath.

"That git from seventh year? Who told Oliver he would be a better Keeper than him?"

"Exactly."

"I thought Oliver was going to murder him," I said.

"Well, two years ago, someone pranked him, and dear old Connor ate a whole bunch of Doxy eggs."

"He was in the Hospital Wing for days."

"And what does that have to with –"

Suddenly, we heard a voice in the hallway.

"Addy? Fred, George, are you all right?"

It was Molly – she had probably heard me screaming my lungs out.

"Quick, snatch them before Mum sees!" said George.

They both leaned forward, grabbed the small, black eggs and stuffed them into their pockets. Half a second later, Molly entered the room.

"I heard screaming!" she said, her voice shaking.

"Sorry, Molly" I said. "It was me – I opened the curtains without thinking about the Doxys, and they all came swarming at me."

"Oh, dear!" shrieked Molly. "Were you bit?"

"Bit? Er - I don't – I don't think so…" I said, looking at my arms.

But Molly grabbed my arms anyway, inspecting them closely. She checked my face, and lifted my hair to check my neck – and let out a small shriek.

"What?!" I exclaimed, feeling the blood drain out of my face.

"Oh, dear…" she muttered. "I'm afraid you've been bit…"

"WHAT?!"

"Can we see?!" immediately said the twins, rushing behind me.

"Am I going to die?!" I cried out.

I suddenly felt weak in the legs – Doxy venom was poisonous, wasn't it?

"No, you're not going to die, my dear, but we need to get the antidote now…"

"Where?!"

"Sirius might have what it takes. Sit down, I'll be right back. Fred, hold her hair, let it breathe."

She then ran out of the room. I breathed out, trying not to panic – unsuccessfully.

"I'm going to die," I muttered. "This is it, I'm bloody going to die…"

"Calm down, Adds," said George, shaking his head. "Does it hurt?"

I shook my head, but then I felt a sharp pain in my neck. I screamed out, stepping away from Fred.

"OI! Fred, you git! That hurts!" I yelled.

"Sorry!" he said, not looking one bit sorry. "It just – I wanted to touch it. It looks nasty."

"Wow, you're really helping right now!"

"Adds, sit down, will you?" said George.

"I'm not going to sit down, I've been bit and I –"

"Bloody sit down, Addy!" he insisted. "And calm down."

I stared at George, and then took a deep breath. He was right. I needed to calm down before I exploded. I walked to the bed and sat down, putting my face in my hands.

"Doxy venom is a really common ingredient in potions, Adds, I doubt it's really dangerous," said George quietly, who sat down beside me.

"Yeah, I mean, nobody's ever died from being bit," nodded Fred.

"And you're _sure_ about that?"

Before he could reply anything, Molly reappeared in the room, holding her purse, soon followed by – my heart stopped – Severus Snape. I was so stunned, I couldn't say anything.

"Addy, dear, Severus was here on business for the Order, he's going to look at your bite…"

"Oh – er – okay," was all I managed to say.

Snape took a step forward, and I stood up to meet him halfway. It was so weird seeing him outside of Hogwarts – even though he wore the same black robes, and the same stern, creepy look on his face.

"I understand you've been bit by a Doxy, Miss Harlowe."

"I have – they're over there, I didn't –"

"Where?" he asked, obviously not patient enough for me to explain the circumstances.

I turned around, lifting my hair so he could see my neck properly. There was a short silence before he said anything. I was really starting to feel bad – my throat felt dry, and I was suddenly really hot.

"Yes, I can see that the venom is spreading. She is going to need the antidote. Making it would make too much time, time that Miss Harlowe doesn't have…"

"What?" I asked faintly, but Snape ignored me.

"But I believe they have antidotes ready at the Apothecary on Diagon Alley – I recommend you go there at once."

"Oh, very well, we'll go right now," nodded Molly. "Thank you, Severus, that was very kind of you…"

Snape did not smile or acknowledge the thanks – he simply nodded, and walked out of the room.

"Well, that was unexpected," said Fred.

"I didn't know Snape was part of the Order!" added George.

"Of course he is, George, he always has been."

"But he's –"

"We don't have time for this, boys. Addy, come on, we need to get to Diagon Alley."

I nodded slowly, feeling very dizzy.

"Can we come?" asked the twins.

"I think it's best not, it'll be quicker if it's just the two of us…Come on, Addy."

I took a step forward, but my legs failed under me, and I felt myself fall forward.

"Woah!"

Luckily, George was close beside me, and caught me before I hit the ground.

"Adds, you all right?" he asked in my ear.

"I'm… I'm fine," I said slowly, shaking my head, trying to stop the world from spinning.

"Yeah, sure you're fine" repeated George. "Mum, look at her. She's paler than Nearly Headless Nick - someone needs to help her walk."

"… Very well. Fred, stay here, I'll –"

"What?! That's rubbish, I'm coming too !"

Molly let out a exasperated sigh.

"All right, let's go!"

"Adds, can you walk ?" asked George.

"Yeah – yeah, I'm fine."

I took a step forward, but failed, as I stumbled once again into George's arm.

"Your stubbornness will be the end of you one day, I tell you, Adds. Fred, help me."

Even if I felt horribly weak and dizzy, I couldn't help but smile. Fred and George each grabbed one of arms and helped me walk downstairs – we met some people on the way, but I was so dizzy I couldn't even tell who it was. The sun blinded me as we stepped outside, and I didn't even have time to enjoy the wind on my face before we Disapparated, and before everything went black.

I was only conscious of half the things that were happening – I could hear everything but nothing made any sense. At some point, someone sat me on a chair, and handed me a small potion, which I had to drink down as quickly as possible. I nearly spat it out – it tasted like death. But as soon as I had taken it all, I started to feel better. My vision came back to normal and the world stopped spinning.

"How are you feeling, miss?"

I stared at the old man standing in front of me. I looked around – the room was filled with flasks and bottles and jars – clearly, I was at the Apothecary's.

"Better," I muttered, my voice hoarse and weak.

"How's your vision?" he asked.

"Kind of blurry," I answered.

He nodded, like he was expecting my answer.

"That's quite normal. It should take a few minutes before it comes back completely."

"Am I cured?" I asked.

"Not quite, but you will be, don't worry."

"So I won't die?

The old man smiled.

"No, you won't."

He then turned to Molly, who was looking at me, her eyes filled with worry. It was only then that I noticed that George was kneeling beside me, holding my hand. Fred was standing next to his mother. He smiled when I glanced at him, giving me a thumbs up.

"She'll need to rest for the next few days" said the apothecary. "I would recommend three other potions, one each day, to drink during breakfast. Then, the venom will be gone for good. Now, I can give you the ingredients for the antidote, but you'll have to brew it yourself."

"That's fine" said Molly. "We'll take care of it."

The apothecary then turned to me.

"You may experience more dizziness in the next few days – don't worry about it. Just make sure you get a lot of rest."

I nodded slowly.

"Don't hesitate to come and see me if something goes wrong."

"I will. Thank you."

I felt good enough to walk out of the shop by myself – but George insisted on holding my arm anyway. When we got back to Grimmauld Place, Molly ordered me to go straight to bed – I knew there was no use in arguing with her, and I was exhausted anyway. So I went upstairs, cuddled into bed and fell asleep as soon as my head touched the pillow.

When I woke up again, I found George sitting at the end of my bed, scribbling notes on a piece of parchment.

"Hey," I said sleepily.

He looked up from the parchment, his face brightening up with a smile.

"Hey, gorgeous."

I couldn't help but smile – I loved it when he called me that.

"How are you feeling?" he asked.

"A lot better. What time is it?"

"Almost time for dinner. Are you hungry?"

"I'm famished."

He chuckled, shaking his head.

"I wasn't expecting any less."

There was a few seconds of silence, during which we only looked at each other – getting lost in each other's eyes.

"What are you writing?" I asked, pointing the parchment.

"Oh – I was just making up a list, for the Snackboxes. They're nearly done, you know, but we're still missing a few things… a few ingredients. Like Vernacula Tentacles, for the Nougat, but I've no idea how we're going to get them..."

I listened to him quietly, admiring the look of focus on his face. Every time he talked about the shop, it was like George became this whole new person - in a very good way, of course.

"But you know… It got me thinking, what happened to you."

"What d'you mean?"

"The effect the venom had on you. You looked like you were going to faint."

I couldn't help but chuckle as I sat up on the bed.

"It felt like it too. I couldn't see anything – the world kept spinning, and all the noises around me were like… blurred out. It wasn't a very nice experience."

"I can imagine. It was kind of scary, you know. You almost got me worried."

"Almost?" I said, smirking.

"I knew you'd pull through."

I smiled, grabbing his hand to stroke it gently.

"You said it got you thinking?"

"Well – all the symptoms you had, it's basically what we want for the Fainting Fancies, isn't it? So I was thinking that we could try and use Doxy venom. We had Dragon's Powered Thoraxes before, which were good, but not nearly good enough. Doxy venom – that's what we want."

"That's a brilliant idea. But how are you going to do it? I mean, those things, they won't just let you take their venom…"

"Mum said something about Doxycide. Maybe we can put them to sleep, take their venom, something like that –"

He stopped his sentence abruptly.

"Bloody hell, I'm sorry."

I frowned at the sudden change in his voice.

"For what?"

"I mean, you've just been poisoned, talking about venom's probably the last thing you want to do…"

"I don't mind. I'm too happy to be alive to mind anything, really."

He smiled, squeezing my hand.

"Shall we get to dinner, milady?" he suggested.

"Yes, please, m'lord."

He stood up from the bed – offering me his hand to help me do the same.

"Where's Fred?" I asked.

"Downstairs. He's helping Mum."

He glanced at me, and, seeing the look on my face, smiled.

"She made him."

"Ah. That makes more sense."

I groaned as I stretched, stroking my sore neck – I could still feel the bump of the bite, but it didn't hurt anymore.

"Hey," said George as I was grabbing my wool cardigan.

"What?"

"Come here."

I smiled as he slid his arms around my waist and pulled me close.

"You really did get me worried before, you know."

"I did?"

"You did."

"I'm sorry."

"You better be."

I shook my head, chuckling, and met him halfway for a kiss. He had his fingers in my hair, his other hand around my waist – and his lips on mine felt like heaven. I didn't want it to end. I never wanted it to end – and then, the bedroom door opened. I pulled back reluctantly from George's lips, expecting to see Fred at the door – it wasn't.

"Oh - well, I see you're up, Addy," said Ginny.

I took a step back from George, blushing furiously.

"Hey Gin," I said in a small voice.

"Glad to see you're feeling better."

I ignored the tone in her voice and the smirk on her face.

"Dinner's ready."

"Thanks. We'll be down in a minute."

She nodded, clearly amused by the situation. I glanced at George once she was gone – he too was smirking.

"Well that was embarrassing – oh, stop it with that smile."

"Why? You love my smile."

"You really don't have an ounce of self –"

I shook my head as he bent down to steal a kiss, interrupting me half-sentence. Even though I was kind of annoyed, I couldn't help but kiss back. When he pulled back, I glared at him, sliding my cardigan on my shoulders.

"C'mon, we should go eat before someone else comes up."

"After you, gorgeous."

* * *

 _AN: I honestly have no idea how Doxy bites are treated, and nothing came up in my research, so I made something up. Sorry if it doesn't make any sense, haha :)_


	36. vol II : chapter six

Hello! It's me! *breaks into an Adele song*  
Sorry for that. It's quite late here.  
I would like to apologize for the lack of updates. My semester has been craaaaazy. Between studying and working, I barely have a minute to myself, and when I do, I'm usually too tired to write or update. So, sorry about that. But I must say my lack of update has also been due to the fact that I wasn't sure people were reading and interested in this stotry still - but I still have hope that there are some of you out there, so I'm updating for you. I will honestly try to update more often during the holidays. Pinky promise!  
I hope you like this chapter. There's a lot coming from the books, but I believe it's important material to cover. Anyway, I'm going to stop talking.  
Thank you for everyone who is reading, I really do appreciate it. And a bigger thank you to everyone who follows/favorites/reviews. You guys are my gasoline.  
Okay I'm done. I love you guys! xx

* * *

 **wildest dreams  
** VOLUME II

* * *

 **CHAPTER SIX**

* * *

The next day at breakfast, I was sitting alone with the twins in the kitchen – the three of us had woken up late.

"Got a letter from Lee last night," said George.

"Oh! How's he doing?" I asked, excited to hear about him.

"Good. His Dad got tickets for the Chudley Canons match last week – said it was brilliant."

"I bet it was," I muttered. "I wish I could go to more matches. Oliver's sent me an invitation for a Puddlemere United one a few weeks back – but I was in South America."

"Oliver, oh _Oliver,_ " said Fred suggestively.

I gave him a solid nudge in the ribs, shaking my head.

"Well we'll have the Cup back this year," said George, carefully ignoring his brother's remark. "We have to win, no choice. It's our last chance."

"Ooh, I can't wait for some good old Gryffindor/Slytherin rivalry," I nodded, smirking at the idea.

"Be careful with that" said Fred. "Last time I saw that look in your eyes you ended up in the Hospital Wing with a concussion…"

"Hey, guys."

We all turned to the door – Bill had just entered.

"Hey, Bill!" I smiled.

"How was it?" he asked, pointing the empty flask beside me.

"I'd rather not talk about it, or I might vomit," I said flatly.

Bill smiled. The antidote to Doxy venom had not tasted like anything when I had taken it at the apothecary – probably because I had been only half-conscious. But when I had taken it a few minutes earlier, it had tasted worse than my uncle's cooking – which was pretty awful.

"Well I have some news that might cheer you up."

"What?" asked Fred.

"You've not asked Fleur not marry you, have you?" said George. "Because Ginny _will_ kill you."

"No," said Bill, shaking his head – I noticed how he had blushed. "They're going to get Harry. Tonight."

"Finally!" I breathed out.

"Who's going? When?" asked George.

"Just a few people from the Order. After sundown. Now, I need to get to work, will you let the others know?"

We didn't even have time to reply that Bill had already disappeared. I raised an eyebrow.

"He sure is in a hurry to get to work."

The twins snickered.

"Yeah, right. _To_ _get to work._ "

I rolled my eyes, chuckling, imagining Bill running to Gringotts – and to his new and very charming blonde-haired coworker. It was so weird thinking about Bill fancying someone like her. But life was full of surprises.

"Well, it's about time they go and get Harry. It's been ages since the whole Dementor thing," said George.

"Yeah. I reckon he's going to be furious, too, when he realizes everything they've been hiding from him…"

"Well, he's got every right to be, if you ask me," I muttered.

The twins nodded, and continued eating their porridge. Because of my accident the day before, I was excused of chores – Molly wanted me in bed, and nowhere else. Therefore, I spent most of the day exactly there, re-reading my Magical Law book and writing a letter to Angelina, telling her what had happened. Sirius visited me during the late afternoon, and we played a few games of Exploding Snap. I had nearly beat him for the third time when Molly entered the room.

"Are you feeling better, Addy, dear?" she asked, smiling.

"Much better, Molly."

"Good. Now, Sirius, can you come and give me a hand with dinner? We'll eat a little late today, because of the meeting, but I still want to get everything ready…"

"Of course, Molly."

He stood up from my bed, giving me a wink before following Molly downstairs. I wanted until I couldn't hear the creaking sound of the stairs – and ran upstairs, where the twins were busy cleaning the room where I had been bit. They were quite excited to hear there was going to be a meeting that night – that would be a good time to put the Extendable Ears to use.

Right before dinner, we sat down at the very top of the stairs – I had, right after we left the dining room, settled one of the Ears next to the door – and proceeded to try and listen to the meeting. However, we couldn't hear anything.

"Do you reckon Dumbledore found a DADA teacher?" asked George after a while.

"I doubt he has" I said. "After what happened to the others…"

"I wish Lupin would do it this year – he was the best of the whole bunch," sighed Fred.

"It's not like the 'bunch' in question was really hard to beat…" I replied, arching an eyebrow.

"Anything but Lockhart, that's all I'm asking."

"He wasn't _that_ bad!"

"That's because you fancied him, like all the bloody girls in school…"

"I didn't! I'm just saying, I'd rather have a fraud as a teacher than someone who has bloody _You-Know-Who_ on the back of his head!"

"Point taken."

"Shut it!" said George, pointing the Ear. "Harry's arrived."

We listened to Molly and the others greeting Harry – who went upstairs a few seconds later. The meeting went on – now that the people that had been getting Harry were back, the conversation would probably be more and more interesting… the entire Order seemed to be present, after all… until a loud voice rose from downstairs, and then we definitely couldn't hear anything.

"Is that Harry?"

We all bent down to get closer to the Ear – but we didn't really need it. Harry's voiced echoed through the whole house.

"Blimey, he sounds _mad_."

Fred was right – I couldn't heard what Harry was saying, but he sounded very angry.

"Let's find out what bothers him so much," said Fred.

"Maybe we shouldn't," I hesitated.

"Why?" replied the twins.

"Can't you hear him ? He's mad, I reckon the last thing he wants is to be asked questions by you two. We should give him some space! Just for him to get a hold of everything, you know…"

The twins stared at me, and then glanced at each other.

"Won't do."

I knew what they were going to do before they did it – but I still felt my stomach turn as George grabbed my hand we all Apparated in Ron's room with a loud _crack._

"Stop _doing_ that!" shrieked Hermione.

"I'm sorry, I tried to stop them!"

"Hello Harry," said George. "We thought we heard your dulcet tones."

"You don't want to bottle up your anger like that, Harry, let it all out. There might be a couple of people fifty miles away who didn't hear you."

"You two passed your Apparation tests, then?" asked Harry.

He looked sulky and tired – I couldn't blame him.

"With distinction."

"It would have taken you about thirty seconds longer to walk down the stairs," sighed Ron.

"Time is Galleons, little brother," replied Fred. "Anyway, Harry, you're interfering with reception. Extendable Ears – we're trying to hear what's going on downstairs."

"You want to be careful," said Ron. "If Mum sees one of them again…

"It's worth the risk, that's a major meeting they're having."

Ginny entered the room – she was smiling at Harry.

"Oh, hello, Harry! I thought I heard your voice."

I smirked. She turned to the twins.

"It's no go with the Extendable Ears, she's gone and put an Imperturbable Charm on the kitchen door."

"How d'you know?"

"Tonks told me how to find out. You just chuck stuff at the door and if it can't make contact the door's been Imperturbed. I've been flicking Dungbombs at it from the top of the stairs and they just soar away from it, so there's no way the Extendable Ears will be able to get under the gab."

"Shame," sighed Fred. "I really fancied finding out what old Snape's been up to."

"Snape?" asked Harry, eyes wide. "Is he here?"

"Yeah," nodded George, closing the door. "Giving a report. Top secret."

" _Everything_ 's top secret," I muttered.

"Git," added Fred.

"He's on our side now," said Hermione.

"Doesn't stop him being a git. The way he looks at us when he sees us…"

"He helped Addy with her bite!"

I snickered.

"Well – it's not like he was reassuring about it. He basically told me I was going to die if I didn't take the antidote" I said, sitting on one of the beds next to George.

"Wait, what?" asked Harry. "What bite?"

"Doxys," I answered. "They're all over the house. Point is, whatever side he's on, doesn't mean we have to like him."

"Bill doesn't like him either" nodded Ginny.

There was a short silence – Harry seemed to have calmed down – he sat on the opposite bed and asked about Bill. We told him everything about everything after that – about the whole thing with Percy, about Dumbledore, and the Daily Prophet. We only stopped when we heard Molly coming up the stairs – the twins and me Disapparated back upstairs. We tried to hear the conversation as most of the Order left the house – but without success. We therefore went downstairs to dinner, feeling a little bummed out.

Molly asked us to help her carry everything to the table – of course, Fred and George refused to do it normally, and so spilled the Butterbeer everything, almost broke the kitchen table in two and nearly stabbed Sirius in the hand.

"FOR HEAVEN'S SAKE!" yelled Molly. "THERE WAS NO NEED – I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF THIS – JUST BECAUSE YOU'RE ALLOWED TO USE MAGIC NOW YOU DON'T HAVE TO WHIP YOUR WANDS OUT FOR EVERY TINY LITTLE THING!"

"We were just trying to save a bit of time!" said Fred. "Sorry Sirius, mate – didn't mean to –"

But Sirius was laughing – so I was, and so was almost the rest of the table.

"Boys, your mother's right," nodded Arthur. "You're supposed to show a sense of responsibility now you've come of age…"

"… none of your brothers caused this sort of trouble!" continued Molly. "Bill didn't feel the need to Apparate every few feet! Charlie didn't Charm everything he met! Percy –"

Silence filled the room as Molly stopped dead in her sentence. I stared at her – she suddenly looked incredibly frightened and sad. I felt my heart break a little – and my rage against Percy grow even harder – that stupid, careless git!

"Let's eat," declared Bill.

"It looks wonderful, Molly."

We all sat down at the table, feeling a little awkward.

"I've been meaning to tell you, there's something trapped in that writing desk in the drawing room, it keeps rattling and shaking" said Arthur to Sirius. "Of course, it could just be a Boggart, but I thought we ought to ask Alastor to have a look at it before we let it out."

"Whatever you like."

"The curtains in there are full of doxies too," said Molly.

"Don't tell me," I muttered.

George smirked at me.

"I thought we might try and tackle them tomorrow."

I raised an eyebrow – I would make sure they would do that without me. I had had enough of Doxies for a lifetime. Slowly, the silence was filled by the rattling of the plates, and the conversations were getting louder and louder. I was soon listening to Mundungus Fletcher's stories about his 'business', as he liked to call it – maybe Dung was a tosser, but he sure was funny.

"I don't think we need to hear any more of your business dealings, thank you very much, Mundungus," said Molly when Ron nearly fell off his chair from laughter.

"Beg pardon, Molly. But, you know, Will nicked 'em orf Warty Harris in the first place so I wasn't really doing nothing wrong –"

"I don't know where you learned about right and wrong, Mundungus, but you seem to have missed a few crucial lessons."

I choked on the sip of the Butterbeer I was taking, burying my laughter in my hands. I glanced at Fred and George – their faces were buried in their goblets. As soon as Molly left the kitchen, we all roared in laughter. The atmosphere at dinner was light and fun – everyone was talking and laughing. It was really late when we all finished eating. I was talking with Lupin about the Ministry when Molly decided it was time for bed.

"Not just yet, Molly. You know, I'm surprised at you," said Sirius, looking at Harry. "I thought the first thing you'd do when you got here would be to start asking questions about Voldemort."

I felt a cold shiver run through my spine – all the conversations died out, everyone stared at Sirius in silence. It was like a Dementor had entered the room.

"I did!" replied Harry. "I asked Ron and Hermione but they said we're not allowed in the Order, so –"

"And they're quite right," said Molly. "You're too young."

"Since when did someone have to be in the Order of the Phoenix to ask questions? Harry's been trapped in that Muggle house for a month. He's got the right to know what's been happen –"

"Hang on!" suddenly cried out George beside me.

"How come Harry gets his questions answered?" said Fred.

" _We've_ been trying to get stuff out of you for a month and you haven't told us a single stinking thing !"

"' _You're too young, you're not in the Order',"_ said Fred, imitating his mother – I probably would have laughed in another context. "Harry's not even of age!"

"It's not my fault you haven't been told what the Order's doing," said Sirius. "That's your parents' decision. Harry, on the other hand –"

Molly interrupted Sirius, a uncharacteristic harsh look on her face.

"It's not down to you to decide what's good for Harry! You haven't forgotten what Dumbledore said, I suppose?"

"Which bit?"

"The bit about not telling Harry more than he _needs to know_."

The argument that followed between Sirius and Molly was almost dizzying to follow – they kept throwing arguments at each other, back and forth, without any pause. It was clear both of them were convinced they were right – and both of them weren't ready to let go. It was only when Lupin stepped in that Molly and Sirius sat back in their chairs.

"I think Harry ought to be allowed a say in this," said Lupin. "He's old enough to decide for himself."

"I want to know what's been going on," said Harry.

There was short silence.

"Very well. Ginny – Ron – Hermione – Fred – George – Addy – I want you out of this kichen, now."

The previous silence was instantly broken.

"We're of age!" exclaimed the twins.

"So am I!" I cried out.

"If Harry's allowed, why can't I?"

"Mum, I want to!"

"NO!" yelled Molly. "I absolutely forbid –"

"Molly, you can't stop Fred, George and Addy. They _are_ of age," said Arthur calmly.

"They're still at school –"

"But they're legally adults now."

"I – oh, all right then, they can stay, but Ron –"

I glanced at the twins, grinning from ear to ear. We all clapped in each other's hands – there it was! We were in, finally!

* * *

We came out of the kitchen after what seemed like ages. My head was buzzing with the new information we had learned – none of this had ever felt so close, so real. As they spoke of armies, corruption, murders and weapons, I couldn't utter a single word – the lump in my throat prevented me from doing so. None of us spoke – only Harry kept asking questions. At some point, I grabbed George's hand, squeezing it, just to remind myself that he was right there, right next to me.

Molly followed us upstairs to make sure we all went straight to bed – but I knew I wouldn't be able to sleep, so after slipping on my pajamas, I bid Ginny and Hermione goodnight and quietly went up to Fred and George's room.

"We were just going to see Harry and Ron," George told me as I closed the door behind me.

I nodded feverishly, and took the hand he extended to me. A _crack_ later, we Apparated downstairs, in the dark.

"OUCH!" yelled Ron.

"Keep you voice down, Ron, or Mum'll be back up here," sighed Fred.

"You three just Apparated on my knees!"

"Yeah, well, it's harder in the dark –"

"Sorry, Ron," I muttered, climbing down from the bed.

My eyes gradually got used to the darkness – I could see Ron looking quite annoyed. Unable to stop myself from smirking, I followed George to Harry's bed and sat down on it.

"So, got there yet?" asked George.

"The weapon Sirius mentioned?" said Harry.

"Let slip, more like," said Fred with a smile. "We didn't hear about _that_ on the old Extendables, did we?"

"What d'you reckon it is?"

"Could be anything," shrugged Fred.

"But there can't be anything worse than the _Avada Kedavra_ cruse, can there? What's worse than death?" asked Ron.

"Maybe it's something that can kill loads of people at once," said George.

"Maybe it's some particularly painful way of killing people…" muttered Ron.

"He's got the Cruciatus Curse for causing pain. He doesn't need anything more efficient than that," said Harry flatly.

I had heard the tremor in Ron's voice – I couldn't blame him. I felt as if the lump in my throat had fallen into my stomach like a rock, making me feel sick and heavy. We were all silent for a second. Ron was right – what could be worse than death ?

"So who d'you think's got it now?" asked George beside me.

His voice sounded strangely different – fainter than usual, maybe.

"I hope it's our side," said Ron.

"If it is, Dumbledore's probably keeping it," added Fred.

"Where? Hogwarts?"

"Bet it is! That's where he hid the Sorcerer's Stone!" said George.

"A weapon's going to be a lot bigger than the Stone, though!" replied Ron.

"Not necessarily."

"Yeah, size is no guarantee of power," nodded George. "Look at Addy, or Ginny."

"What d'you mean?" asked Harry.

"You've never seen Addy angry, have you?"

I shook my head, giving George a hard nudge in the ribs.

"Oi!"

"I'm right here, you bloody tosser."

"See what I mean?" said George, rubbing his side with a half-smile.

"Shh!" suddenly said Fred. "Listen!"

We all held our breath – someone was coming up the stairs.

"Mum," said George.

He grabbed my hand and suddenly, we were back in the twins' room.

"You reckon she's going to come up here?" asked Fred.

"Probably. You should wait a bit before going back, Adds."

I nodded, sitting down on George's bed. None of us spoke – I could guess that, like me, the twins were thinking about this weapon and what it could be. Not two minutes later, we heard Molly's steps in the stairs, and stop right in front of the door. But we were already in complete silence, and a few seconds later, we heard her go down the stairs, probably back to the kitchen.

"I should go," I sighed.

"And we should probably go to bed. Mum's going to wake us up early tomorrow and make us pay for arguing with her so much tonight," sighed Fred.

"At least we'll be able to attend the meetings now," shrugged George.

I stood up, rubbing my eyes.

"Goodnight, you two," I muttered as I walked to the door.

"Goodnight, Adds," I heard Fred say from his bed.

My hand was almost on the doorknob when I felt a hand on my arm – I turned around, my eyes landing on George's concerned face.

"Hey, are you all right?" he asked quietly. "You've been quiet all night."

"I'm fine," I shrugged. "Just tired."

"You sure ?"

"Yeah," I nodded. "I mean… all of this – it's kind of scary, don't you think?"

He nodded, his hand sliding down my arm to grab my hand.

"I mean – it just feels so real now. So much more real that it was. I'm just worried. Harry…"

"Nothing's going to happen to Harry. Dumbledore is –"

"It's not just Harry. It's everything, and everyone… Nobody's safe anymore. Nowhere's safe."

"Hey."

I looked up, setting my eyes deep into his.

"You're forgetting one thing."

"What?" I asked faintly.

"We're together. As long as we're together, we'll be fine."

I smiled softly, stroking his hand – and then, couldn't resist but pull him to me, sliding my hands around his waist, burying my head in the soft fabric of his shirt.

"You're right," I whispered. "I'm sorry."

"Stop bloody apologizing for everything. And try to get some rest, all right?" he said, stroking my hair. "You _did_ almost die yesterday."

I chuckled, my hands on his back, and kissed him slowly. I wasn't even aware of the rest of the world anymore – not even of Fred on the other side of the room – it felt like we were suddenly alone in the universe. The rock in my stomach had turned into butterflies – George had that kind of effect on me, and I liked him even more for it.

I reluctantly pulled away from him, admiring his smile one last time before slipping out of the room into the dark and quiet hallway. Soon, I was back in my bed, rolling up the sheets around me, and fell into a dreamless sleep.


	37. vol II : chapter seven

Hello again!  
Here's a new chapter. It's a little shorter, but I hope you like it.  
Thank you for the support!  
Enjoy, and please don't forget to review! x

Marianne

* * *

 **wildest dreams  
** VOLUME II

* * *

 **CHAPTER SEVEN**

* * *

The following day, I was feeling much better after taking my second dose of the antidote, and so Molly immediately sent me to work. I was excused from taking care of the Doxies upstairs with the others – thank Merlin –, but was asked, instead, to fix a grandfather clock that had the nasty habit to shot its heavy bolts at everyone who passed in front of it. I had no idea what to do with it – fortunately, Lupin gave me a hand as he was at headquarters for some business.

The next few days went by as if they hadn't even happened – Molly had been restless and we hadn't stopped cleaning the house from top to bottom. There were a moment good moments – the ghoul in the upstairs toilet Tonks found, for example, had provided amazingly good entertainment. We woke up early, and went to bed early too, exhausted from all the work. Even the twins were starting to fall behind on their mail business – and had had almost no time to work on the Snackboxes.

When I woke up on the morning of August 12th, the bedroom was empty and the sun filled the room. Frowning, I took a look at the clock next to me – it was nearly halfday! Letting out a shriek, I stood up so quickly I almost fell out of the bed and got dressed in a hurry – Molly would kill me for sleeping in so late, I was sure of it. Why nobody had woken me up before, I didn't know – but got the answer as soon as I entered the kitchen.

"I'm here! I'm he –" I cried out, the last word dying out in my throat.

Everyone was sitting around the table, almost in complete silence. Hermione looked pale, as if she was going to faint. Sirius held a newspaper in front of him, but I could see that his eyes weren't moving. My entrance didn't even disturb the mood – only the twins looked up. I frowned and sat down in front of them.

"What's going on?" I asked quietly.

"It's Harry," started Fred.

"He's bound to get back any minute now."

"Harry? What are you – Oh."

I suddenly remembered what day we were – Harry's hearing, of course! Everyone had probably been busy worrying about him, surely that was why nobody had thought of waking me up.

"Any news?"

The twins shook their heads, strokes of ginger hair falling in front of their eyes.

"Your shirt's upside down."

I looked down – George was right. Blushing slightly, I ran to the bathroom and made sure the colorful logo of the Weird Sisters was in the right place.

I bit my lip, taking a small breath. Harry would be fine, I was sure of it – but still, I couldn't help but start to worry a little. What if he couldn't go back to Hogwarts? The thought made me shiver. I couldn't imagine not going back – it would break my heart. Unable to stand still, I went into the kitchen to get some breakfast. Molly was there, already busy preparing lunch.

"Hello, Molly."

She jumped a little at my words – I gave her a soft smile.

"Addy, you're up."

"Yeah – sorry I slept in."

"It's all right, dear. Everyone has their day off, anyway… I thought you needed the rest…"

"Thank you, Molly. Need a hand?"

"No, no, no, I'm fine. You should get some breakfast. I think there's still some porridge left…"

I nodded, walking to the pot she was pointing. I heated myself a bowl with a flick of my wand, and set for the kitchen. As I entered, everyone suddenly got up from their seats – the sudden move and collective 'Harry!' nearly made me drop my bowl. I turned to the other door – Harry had just come in, followed by Arthur.

"How did it go?" asked Hermione, her voice a few pitches higher than usual.

But I had already guessed the answer – it was obvious, from the grin on Harry's face.

"Cleared of all charges," he said.

There was a collective sigh of relief, followed by shouts of glee and even some clapping. Ron threw his fist high in the air.

"I knew it! You always get away with stuff!"

Smiling, I was about to eat a spoon of my porridge when Fred's hand grabbed my wrist.

" _He got off, he got off_ " he started to chant, pulling me towards so I would join him.

"I'm eating!" I cried out.

"Who cares!" he replied, grabbing my bowl and almost throwing it on the table.

I shook my head, but was way too happy to really care – and joined him, George and Ginny into some sort of odd celebration. We danced around the table, singing for Harry's victory.

" _He got off, he got off, he got off…_ "

"That's enough, settle down!" said Arthur.

He seemed like he wanted to talk to Sirius – but he was smiling, so we kept going. I had George on one side of me and Ginny on the others, our arms locked as we danced and chanted even louder.

" _He got off, he got off, he got off..._ "

"Be quiet, you four!"

But we didn't care – I was so happy. I was happy for Harry, and to be here with my best friends in the whole world, and we would go back to Hogwarts soon. For a moment, I couldn't care less about dangerous weapons, venomous bites or even my parents – I only enjoyed the moment.

Even when Molly finally made us stop – threatening to lock us up in our rooms – I couldn't shake away the feeling of glee that was overwhelming me. And it seemed like it was all over the house, too – the atmosphere had never been so light, so cheerful. I almost didn't even care about cleaning dusty cupboards and greasy cutlery anymore. Letters seemed to be arriving from everywhere – I got one from Angelina, who was on vacation in Spain with her parents, one from Oliver, and one from my uncle, telling me they were almost done with recording their new album already, and sending me a sample of one song. We played it at dinner that night – even Molly ended up dancing.

Exactly a week before our return to Hogwarts, I was sitting in the twins' room, replying to Angelina's letter while they worked on the Snackboxes.

"Blimey, Addy, are you sure you're not writing an essay?" said Fred as he eyed my already-filled parchment.

"I haven't seen her all summer," I said, still focused on my letter. "I have a lot of things to tell her."

"You're going to see her in two weeks, can't it wait?"

"No, it can't."

I looked up as he sighed, shaking his head. It was true, Angelina and me talked about a lot of things over our letters – but there was _one_ thing she hadn't told me anything about.

"Fred? Have you written _at all_ to Angie this summer?" I asked him.

Fred didn't reply – I narrowed my eyes at him.

"You didn't, didn't you?"

Fred let out an annoyed sigh.

"I'm not good with letters!"

"Says the bloke who runs an _order-by-mail_ business!"

"That's not the same thing –"

"She's supposed to be your girlfriend, you prat! If George didn't write to me all summer, I would kill him. Physically _kill_ him."

George let out a chuckle, looking up from his cauldron – I shot him a dark look.

"Oh, she's serious," he muttered.

"Of course I'm serious!" I hissed. "How d'you reckon she's feeling right now, Fred?"

"She hasn't written to me either!" he replied.

"Don't be such a baby! That's because she was waiting for _you_ to write first!"

"Why should I be the one to write first ? Why do _we_ always have to do things first?"

"He's got a point," said George.

I glared at him – I was quite annoyed, almost angry, and he must have seen it on my face because he quickly continued.

"Don't look at me like that! It's true. We're always expected to do the first move."

"Yeah, why shouldn't it be the girl, just for once?"

"Because we're – we're shy!"

Fred snickered.

"Angelina's a lot of things, but she's not shy. And you're not either."

I rolled my eyes at him.

"A lot of girls are! And I don't know, maybe we're not confident enough! You boys can be so…so..."

The twins both arched an eyebrow at the same time.

"Well, you're boys!" I finally sighed, exasperated.

"Yeah, that explains it," said Fred sarcastically.

I glared at him, and wanted to convince him to write to Angelina when the cauldron that was sitting between the two of them suddenly made a weird bubbling noise.

"Oh! It's ready."

I stared attentively as the twins got to work. As Fred lifted the cauldron from its spot on the heater, George grabbed the tray and put it on the floor next to them. Fred then carefully poured the pink substance in the tray and took out his wand.

"Looks good," said George.

Fred then muttered a spell that made the liquid substance slowly turn solid. Soon enough, we were looking at approximately twenty small pink pieces of what looked like candy.

"So that's the antidote?" I asked.

The twins nodded.

"Now we need to see if it works as well as we want it," said Fred with a grin.

George was already leaning under the bed, grabbing a small box. It contained the same looking candy as the one they had just made – only those were a bright blue. He looked at them for a few seconds, before looking up at his brother.

"It's your turn, mate," said Fred.

George sighed deeply, took one of the blue candy and was about to swallow it when I cried out.

"Wait!"

He stopped – giving me a questioning look. I stared back with wide eyes.

"I just – what's going to happen, exactly?"

"He's going to faint," replied Fred matter-of-factly.

"Okay. Then what?"

"Then _what_?"

"Well, what? How's he going to wake up? He can't take the antidote if he's unconscious!"

The twins grimaced.

"Yeah, that's the tricky part about Fainting Fancies. You've got to have an accomplice to give you the antidote – or it'll be hours before you wake up."

"Couldn't you incorporate the antidote in the candy so the person wakes up after, what, half an hour?"

"We tried," sighed Fred.

"We'll get there," added George. "But for now, that's as good as it gets."

"Okay. That's okay. Sorry. Go on."

The blue candy was less than one inch away from his tongue when I stopped him again.

"Wait!"

"What is it _this time_?" sighed Fred in annoyance.

"I was just thinking – maybe you should sit on the bed? So that when you faint, you fall on the bed, not on the floor?"

There was a short silence as we all stared at each other.

"Yeah, good call," nodded George.

"Y'know, Addy, sometimes I reckon you ought to be in Ravenclaw," added Fred.

I smiled faintly, looking at George as he went to sit on the bed. My heart was beating fast as he finally swallowed the blue candy. He gave me a small smile, and half a second later, his eyes rolled back in his head and he collapsed on the bed, who let out a small creaking noise.

"Merlin," I muttered.

I quickly stood up, making my way next to George. He simply looked like he was asleep – but when Fred gave him a smack on the cheek, he didn't budge.

"There's no need to hit him!" I cried out.

"What?" he replied innocently, but he was grinning.

He stopped as we both heard the sound of footfalls on the stairs. Fred's eyes widened.

"Mum!"

I felt the blood drain out of my face – if Molly found George unconscious on his bed…

"What do we do?!" I hissed.

Fred shrugged, eyes wide.

"I don't know!"

We stared at each other in panic as the sound of the steps drew closer.

"Bollocks! All right, just – just hide the cauldron!" I said.

As Fred pushed everything under the bed, as they usually did, I turned to George. Think, think, think… _I know!_

I grabbed George's shoulder, and turned him on his side – facing the window, his back to the door. Then I took the blanket at the end of the bed and threw it on him. Now, he looked like he was sleeping.

"She's here!" I heard Fred say.

We jumped on the other bed – I grabbed my letter to Angelina and tried to take a relaxed position – just as the door opened.

"… Just wanted to get your laundry, dears – oh!"

I glanced up at Molly, heart racing.

"Is he asleep?" she asked, pointing at George.

I smiled nervously.

"He is," I replied. "He was really tired, you know, from the…"

"Cleaning," added Fred quickly, sensing my hesitation.

"Yeah, the cleaning," I nodded.

Molly stared at us for a second – and I thought she didn't believe us. But then, her shoulders relaxed.

"Oh, very well, let's not wake him."

We nodded frenetically, and Fred gave her the laundry bag in the corner of the room.

"Cheers, Mum."

She smiled, and turned to the door. I was about to sigh in relief when she turned around again – my breath caught in my throat.

"What are you two doing?" she asked, frowning.

"Writing a letter," answered Fred.

He lied with such ease – I was glad to have him by my side sometimes.

"Oh, to who?"

"Angelina."

"That lovely girl. Say hi to her from me, will you?"

I smiled, nodding. When the door finally closed behind Molly, I let out a big sigh of relief.

"That was close!"

"Na, she didn't suspect a thing," said Fred, shrugging.

"I wouldn't be so sure. Let's wake him up, in case she comes back with more questions."

We hurried to George – and Fred shoved a pink candy into his mouth without hesitation. I stroked George's hair, waiting for him to wake up. It took about a minute, but then his eyes fluttered open and he sat up straight in the bed, not looking like he had been unconscious at all.

"Thank Merlin," I muttered, hugging him tight.

"Why, hello," he said with a smirk.

"Well, the antidote works," sighed Fred, sitting down on the bed.

There was a short silence, as George looked at both of us.

"Why are you two out of breath?" he asked, frowning, and I couldn't help but burst out laughing.


	38. vol II : chapter eight

_Good morning! I hope you're all well!_  
 _I hope you guys like this chapter. I'm a bit nervous about it._  
 _Also, it's our last chapter at Grimmauld Place! Next time we'll be travelling to Hogwaaaaaarts :)_  
 _A huge thank you to everyone who suscribed/favorited/reviewed. (Thank you, Wolvesaremylife1 and Day, since I could not reply to you!)  
I like you all a lot and I appreciate that you take time to review 3 _  
_Finally, I would like to thank the awesome Chaparrita, thanks to who we now have a ship name for George and Addy - **Geddy**! Isn't it cute? :)_  
 _Enjoy! xx_

* * *

 **wildest dreams  
** VOLUME II

* * *

 **CHAPTER NINE**

* * *

"Ooh! Booklists, finally!"

Fred glared at me.

"Don't sound so bloody excited."

"I'm just curious," I said, shaking my head as I opened the envelope.

The three of us were sitting in the dining room, finishing breakfast – Ginny had given us the letters from Hogwarts that had just arrived. It was strange that we were getting them so late – we were going back to Hogwarts the next day, after all – but we had guessed that it was because Dumbledore hadn't found a replacement for Defense Against the Dark Arts yet. The twins didn't even bother opening their letters – they just sat on either side of me, reading mine.

I quickly read the list of mandatory books – Charms, Arithmancy, Transfiguration, Runes… It same the same as usual – except for one.

" _Defensive Magical Theory_ by Wilbert Slinkhard? That's new," read George.

"Probably the new Defense teacher," said Fred.

"Who d'you reckon it is?" I said excitedly.

"Dunno," he shrugged.

"Someone who likes theory, that's for sure," said George drearily.

I bit my lip – I hoped that despite this, the Defense teacher would be a good one. It was NEWTS year, after all, and I needed a good grade if I ever wanted to work at the Ministry – or anywhere, really.

"Let's see what the others think," said Fred.

George nodded, took my hand in his and we Apparated in Harry and Ron's room. Both of them were also reading their booklists. I sat down beside Ron.

"We were just wondering who assigned the Slinkhard book," said Fred.

"Because it means Dumbledore's found a new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher," I said.

"And about time too."

"What d'you mean?" asked Harry.

"Well, we overheard Mum and Dad talking on the Extendable Ears a few weeks back, and from what they were saying, Dumbledore was having real trouble finding anyone to do the job this year," answered Fred.

"No surprising, is it, when you look at what's happened to the last four?" chuckled George.

"One sacked, one dead, one's memory removed, and one locked in a trunk for nine months. Yeah, I see what you mean."

I chuckled – and then spotted Fred's eyes, who were staring at Ron.

"What's up with you, Ron?" he asked.

I turned to Ron, who had been silent. He looked as if he had been struck by lightening. I looked down at what he was staring at – my jaw dropped.

" _Bloody hell,"_ I let out.

"What's the matter?" hurried Fred.

I was too shocked to say anything – so Fred stood up and looked at the parchment.

"Prefect?" he said, dumbfounded.

There was a short silence.

" _Prefect?"_ he repeated.

George was the next one to move – he jumped forward, teared the letter from Ron's hands and looked down at it. A small, shiny object fell in his hand. Both Fred and George looked so uncharacteristically shocked – I would have laughed if I wasn't so surprised as well.

"No way."

"There's been a mistake. No one in their right mind would make Ron a prefect…"

They inspected the letter as if it was a piece of evidence for a crime – then turned to Harry.

"We thought you were a cert!" cried out Fred.

"We thought Dumbledore was _bound_ to pick you !"

"Winning the Triwizard and everything!"

"I suppose all the mad stuff must've counted against him."

"Yeah" nodded Fred. "Yeah, you've caused too much trouble, mate. Well, at least one of you's got their priorities right."

After giving Harry a friendly smack on the shoulder, Fred turned again to Ron. I snatched the badge from George's hands, looking at it from all the angles. Prefect! I had never hoped of becoming one, not with the twins as my best friends, but it was still a great honor to get in my opinion – even though most Prefects were insufferable. Percy had been a nightmare. Fortunately, the two Prefects from our year had never taken their job really seriously – we rarely saw them around.

" _Prefect…_ ickle Ronie the prefect…"

"Oh, Mum's going to be revolting."

"Congratulations, Ron," I said, handing the badge back to him.

He didn't answer – only gave the badge to Harry who examined it carefully. I had thought that Harry would get it too. But the twins were probably right – he had gotten too much into trouble. Suddenly, the door opened to a flushed Hermione. She was wearing a bright, excited smile.

"Did you – did you get –?"

She let out a scream when she saw the badge in Harry's hand.

"I knew it! Me too, Harry, me too!"

I smiled at her excitement – Hermione would be the perfect prefect, that was for sure. I had never doubted that she would be the one getting it.

"No. It's Ron, not me," said Harry, giving the badge back to Ron.

"It – what?"

"Ron's prefect, not me."

" _Ron?_ But… are you sure? I mean –"

"It's my name on the letter."

I looked at Ron – it was the first time he had spoken since we had Apparated in the room. Hermione blushed furiously.

"I… I… well… wow! Well done, Ron! That's really –"

"Unexpected," said George.

I gave him a nudge in the ribs – but I was smiling. He only winked back at me.

"No, no, it's not… Ron's done loads of… he's really…"

That's when Molly entered the bedroom – Hermione looked quite relieved that the attention was deviated from her, and took a few steps back, her cheeks still a deep shade of red.

"Ginny said the booklists had come at last. If you give them to me I'll take them over to Diagon Alley this afternoon and get your books while you're packing. Ron, I'll have to get you more pajamas, these are at least six inches too short, I can't believe how fast you're growing… what color would you like?"

"Get him red and gold to match his badge," smirked George.

I bit my lip – but Molly was still sorting out the clothes on Ron's bed and didn't react.

"Match his what?"

"His _badge._ His lovely shiny new _prefect's badge,"_ said Fred.

"His… but… Ron, you're not…?" said Molly, her eyes wide.

As Ron showed her his badge, Molly let out a shriek. _Woah._

"I don't believe it! I don't believe it!" she said excitedly. "Oh, Ron, how wonderful! A prefect! That's everyone in the family!"

"What are Fred and I, next-door neighbours?"

I snickered, trying to hold back my laughter as I stared at Fred and George's faces. But I couldn't do it – and bursted out laughing.

"What are you laughing at!" said Fred indignantly to me.

"I'm – I'm sorry, it's just – your faces…"

"And you're supposed to be on our side," he hissed.

But I couldn't stop laughing – tears burned my eyes. Fred and George started to make retching noises as Molly gushed about Ron's new nomination. I held on to my sides, still laughing.

"Well, what will it be?" asked Molly to Ron. "We gave Percy an owl, but you've already got one, of course."

"W-what do you mean?"

"You've got to have a reward for this ! How about a nice new set of dress robes?"

"We've already bought him some," said Fred.

He clearly looked as if he regretted that gesture – I bit my lip hard to stop myself from laughing again.

"Mum, can I have a new broom?"

Molly looked a little unsure.

"Not a really good one! Just – just a new one for a change…"

"Of _course_ you can" she smiled. "Well, I'd better get going if I've got a broom to buy too. I'll see you all later… Little Ronnie, a prefect! A don't forget to pack your trunks… A prefect… Oh, I'm all of a dither!"

She kissed Ron again on the cheek before leaving the room.

"You don't mind if we don't kiss you, do you, Ron?"

"We could curtsy, if you like."

I rolled my eyes – poor Ron. The twins had always been kind of hard on him – and it would only grow worse with that new nomination.

"Oh, shut up," said Ron.

"Or what? Going to put us in detention?"

"I'd love to see him try."

"He could if you don't watch out!" suddenly cried out Hermione, looking annoyed.

The twins, of course, only bursted out laughing. I shook my head, but I couldn't help but smile. Imagining Ron giving the twins detention _was_ kind of funny.

"We're going to have to watch our step, George, with these two on our case…"

"Yeah, it looks like our law-breaking days are finally over."

George grabbed my hand and we Apparated in their room upstairs. The twins kept on laughing.

"Who d'you reckon Head Boy and Girl will be?" I asked, trying to change the subject.

"Dunno," shrugged George.

"Probably those two weirdos still," said Fred.

"They're not weirdos. They're just… peculiar," I frowned.

"Peculiar? Have you forgotten second year, when the bloke invited you for a 'stroll in the forest' during the full moon?" said George.

"I remember! You thought he was a werewolf and wanted eat you alive."

I narrowed my eyes at them.

"I was twelve! I never really believed that, I just didn't want to go out with him!"

I hesitated.

"He _was_ kind of weird."

"Well, lucky you didn't go or you might be dead now. But I'm pretty sure he still fancies you."

Both George and me glared at him. Fred raised both his hands.

"It's true!"

"It's not!" I cried out.

"I'm telling you!"

"Really? Well, how come I've never heard from him again? I've never spoken to him since!"

"You probably scared him off," shrugged Fred. "Accusing him of being a cold-blooded murderer and all…"

I rolled my eyes, letting out an exasperated sigh.

"How about we stop talking about that psycho?"

George gave out a sigh of relief.

"Yes, thank you. I hate hearing about blokes fancying you, makes me want to strangle the lot of them."

I glanced at him, eyebrow raised.

"You're _my_ girlfriend! They've got no right fancying you," he said.

"And the other bloke's the psycho," muttered Fred.

I smiled softly, stealing him a quick kiss.

"Ugh, I'm going to be sick," moaned Fred. "Ron can _very_ well send me to detention if it prevents me from seeing you two snogging."

"Oh, c'mon, let the poor lad be," I sighed.

"Certainly not," said Fred, cheeks red.

"This is actually good news, you know, Fred," grinned George. "Less chances to get detention now. Ron will never dare."

I gave him a smack on the shoulder.

"Ron might not, but I wouldn't underestimate Hermione if I was you. She won't hesitate."

"Right," grimaced Fred.

"We'll just have to find a way to keep her in our good graces," smirked George.

"Free merchandise?"

"Our memberships to SPEW?"

"Passwords to secret passages?"

"A subscription to _Witch Weekly_?"

"A year-supply of Butterbeer?"

"All of Addy's books?"

I glared at George.

"Our bodies?" suggested Fred, eyebrows frowned, as if he really considered the option.

"Okay, I'm done," I declared, heading for the door.

But the twins only kept laughing.

"Insufferable, you two are," I muttered.

I closed the door behind me, still hearing the muffled laughter behind it. I shook my head, but couldn't help the smile on my face.

I couldn't stand still for the rest of the day – so I decided to convince Molly to accompany her to Diagon Alley. She would certainly need the help anyway, and when I argued that I could help her choose Ron's new broom she agreed, making me promise that I would pack as soon as we got back. I wasn't worried about that – being able to use magic certainly helped. A few simple spells and it would be over.

Diagon Alley was insanely busy – everyone had gotten their letters and booklists at the same time, so it seemed to me like all of Hogwarts was cramped into the small street that was Diagon Alley – it was even worse in the shops, as everyone tried to squeeze in to grab the last copy of _Defensive Magical Theory_ or the size 2 pewter cauldron that was on sale.

We came back to Square Grimmauld a few hours later, exhausted and hungry. My arms hurt from carrying all the books – but seeing Ron's smile when he laid eyes on his new Cleansweep Eleven made everything worth it.

"I helped her choose it," I told Ron as he unwrapped it. "It's a good one. Just came out. The bloke that works at the shop told me it goes from nought to seven –"

"Seventy miles an hour, I know!" said Ron, his eyes glued on the broom. "I read all about it in _Which Broomstick_ and _Seeker Weekly_! I can't believe it! It's brilliant!"

I chuckled at the look on his face. When Hermione finally convinced him to let it go so we could go eat, we all walked downstairs where Molly had put up a huge banner that read "Congratulations Ron and Hermione – new Prefects".

"Me and Addy thought we'd have a little party, not a sit-down dinner," she said as we entered.

I smiled – we had talked about it while waiting in line at Flourish and Blotts. Fred and George glanced at me, eyebrows raised. I only shrugged, smiling.

"I don't want to hear you two complain" I told them quietly. "I also convinced her to get a bottle of Fire Whiskey, so…"

"Wicked," they said, grinning.

"She made me promise that we would only have one sip. But, I mean, if the bottle disappears, we can always blame it on Dung…"

They chuckled. Guests started arriving, and soon, the dining room was cramped with people. All the Weasleys were there – well, except for Charlie, at my great dismay –, with Sirius, Lupin, Tonks, Kingsley Shacklebot and Mad-Eye Moody. Everyone was talking, eating and drinking. I sat down with Ginny, Tonks and Hermione as the twins walked to Mundungus Fletcher – something about Tentacula seeds.

"I was never a prefect myself," said Tonks. "My Head of House said I lacked certain necessary qualities."

"Like what ?" asked Ginny.

"Like the ability to behave myself."

I laughed with Ginny – Hermione remained silent, and choked on a sip of Butterbeer.

"McGonagall said a similar thing to me," I smiled. "Something like 'I thought about it, that perhaps you could help Misters Weasley behave, but that method has failed miserably in the past and I'd rather not try it again."

My impersonation of McGonagall made Tonks burst out laughing.

"That's just how I remember her! Oh, I miss Hogwarts sometimes," she said.

"What about you, Sirius ?" asked Ginny.

Sirius, who was sitting a few seats away, let out a loud laugh.

"No one would have made me a prefect, I spent too much time in detention with James. Lupin was the good boy, he got the badge."

"I think Dumbledore might have hoped that I would be able to exercise some control over my best friends," said Lupin. "I need scarcely say that I failed dismally."

"So you were probably McGonagall's inspiration," I laughed.

"I daresay I probably was."

Hermione then started talking House Elves and her strong passion to save them to Lupin – I grabbed my pint and walked to Molly and Bill, who were having yet another conversation about the latter's hair.

"Let me cut it, dear. It's getting really out of hand, and you're so good-looking, it would look much better shorter, wouldn't it, Harry?"

Harry, who was just passing through, looked slightly alarmed.

"Oh – I dunno –" he said quickly, slipping away towards the twins and Dung.

"Well, what do you think, Addy, dear?"

I smiled.

"I think it looks good. My uncle says anyone with long hair looks like a rock star. Especially if you're ginger."

Bill grinned as Molly sighed softly.

"How is he? Your uncle?"

"Good. He's in Ireland, recording."

"New album?" asked Bill excitedly.

"Yep," I nodded. "Should come out around Christmas."

"Brilliant. And you know, I wanted you ask you…"

Molly suddenly interrupted him.

"What do you think you're doing? That is _not_ yours to take! It was –" she said in a loud voice, eyes glaring at the other side of the room.

She walked away, in direction of a Mundungus Fletcher who looked like he wanted to slip away with the bottle. I chuckled, turning to Bill.

"What did you want to ask me?"

"Right. Er – I was wondering if you could do me a favor."

I frowned – Bill, asking _me_ for a favor? That was new.

"Sure," I said.

He looked a little nervous.

"It's just – it's Fleur's birthday soon, and I was thinking of getting her tickets to see the Weird Sisters. She just discovered them, and loves it, so I thought… you know…"

"That's a lovely idea!"

"You think?"

"Yeah ! I think they'll be in London around October – I'll ask Myron…"

"Really? Brilliant, thanks, Addy."

Bill looked really excited. It was really sweet to see. I wanted to ask him more details about him and Fleur but the twins appeared behind me and pulled me upstairs, saying there was an emergency. Of course, they only wanted to show me what they had just bought from Dung – Venomous Tentacula seeds, which they needed for the antidote to the Nosebleed Nougat.

We talked for a long time, about the last ingredients they need for the Snackboxes. It was really late when I heard my stomach grumbling.

"I'm gonna go grab some food while there's still some left. You guys want anything?"

"Nah," said Fred.

"Me neither. I'm _thirsty_ , though."

A mischievous smile spread on the twins' faces. I frowned.

" _What_?"

"Addy…"

"Dear Addy…"

"Didn't you speak of a bottle of _Fire Whiskey_ earlier?"

I grinned. I had completely forgotten about that !

"I'll be right back."

I could hear the twins chuckling as I left the room. Luckily, there wasn't anyone left in the dining room – it was quiet. I immediately spotted the white bottle and walked towards it, grabbing it – it was still half full.

"Need anything?"

I jumped back in surprise, letting out a small shriek. Sirius was standing on the other side of the table, eyebrows raised.

"Bloody Merlin, Sirius!" I cried out, laughing nervously.

"Didn't mean to scare you."

I frowned – he looked a little pale compared to earlier.

"Are you all right?" I asked.

"Just a silly boggart," he said, shrugging slightly.

I nodded – they had probably been taking care of the one in the drawing room. I could understand that Sirius was a little shaken. Boggarts were far from nice to encounter. I would always remember the one Lupin had brought at Hogwarts two years ago.

"What were you planning to do with that?" he asked, pointing my left hand.

I looked at it, and saw that I was still holding the bottle of Fire Whiskey. _Bugger._

"Er – well, I was… er – I was going to… clean. The table. Clean the table."

Needless to say, I was a very bad liar – especially when I was tired and hungry. Sirius' eyes twinkled as he smiled.

"Right."

I smiled nervously as he walked towards me.

"During our seventh year at Hogwarts, me and James sneaked off and stole that exact same bottle from the kitchens. We were celebrating a Quidditch win, if I remember correctly."

I arched an eyebrow.

"So… you won't tell Molly?"

"So, I was seventeen once. Go have fun. But don't tell Molly I let you, that woman might very well kill me."

I smiled brightly at him.

"Thanks, Sirius."

He smiled back - but it seemed to me like it was a little sad.

"Thank _you,_ Addy. It's nice to know I can still make people smile."

I don't know what it was - what he had said, or the look on his face - but my heart broke into a thousand little pieces. I couldn't help it – I took a step forward and hugged him.

"You're _Sirius Black_. If you couldn't, who would?"

He chuckled and I gave him one last smile before I ran upstairs, bottle in hand. The twins were waiting anxiously on their beds.

"Now, who wants a drink?" I said as I closed the door, grinning.


	39. vol II : chapter nine

_Hello!_  
 _This chapter is a little short, but it's because I had to break it down into "two parts" because it was too long._  
 _Because of the length, I'll update during the week (probably Wednesday) and get you chapter 10, which is kind of the second part of this one._  
 _Anywayyyyy, I want to thank all of you for your wonderful reviews - they make me so happy and motivate me a lot._  
 _Also, thank you (and hello) to everyone who has put this story into their alerts/favorites recently. I'm glad you're around._  
 _I hope you still like this one despite its shortness. The next one will have dramaaaaaa!_  
 _Enjoy! x_

* * *

 **wildest dreams  
VOLUME II**

* * *

 **CHAPTER NINE**

* * *

Of course, I woke up the next morning with a headache. Me and the twins spent most of the night in their room, drinking the rest of the Fire Whiskey and enjoying the last night of the summer. We had installed a Sound-Proofing Charm around us so that the rest of the house wouldn't hear us, and talked and laughed until very, very late. The sun was slowly rising when I finally went to bed. Not three hours later, Hermione woke me up – it was time to get up and catch the train.

When I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror as I changed, I nearly screamed. I looked absolutely awful – my eyes were red from the lack of sleep and my hair looked like a bird's nest. I quickly brushed it and even put on a bit of makeup – I looked a little more presentable, but it really wasn't my best day. I blamed the Fire Whiskey. Fortunately, when I got down to breakfast, carrying my large suitcase downstairs, Molly and the others were too busy preparing everything to notice my state – only Ginny gave me a weird look.

"Where're Fred and George?" I asked her, my voice raspy.

"Still upstairs. They were having a hard time getting up. Wonder why."

I couldn't help but smirk at the look on her face. I gave her a nudge on the shoulder, and she chuckled.

"Let's see what they're up to," I said.

We were up two flights of stairs when a loud noise made me jump out of my skin – a large suitcase had dropped right in front of me, and I heard Ginny let out a scream behind me – the other suitcase had flown directly at her face. I turned around and saw her falling down the stairs.

"Gin!" I cried out, feeling suddenly very much awake.

I ran to her – just as the portrait of Sirius' mother started to scream at the top of her lungs.

"Are you all right?" I asked Ginny, kneeling down beside her.

She nodded. I looked up and saw Fred and George at the top of the stairs. I was about to ask them what the bloody hell they had been thinking but Molly bursted out of the kitchen and did the job for me. It was like hell had blown over – Molly was screaming, so was Mrs Black, and everyone ran into the hallway to see what was going on.

Ginny was stunned by not seriously hurt – there was only a small cut over her right eyebrow. Molly looked at it carefully, and disappeared into the kitchen, still raging. Fred and George appeared in the hallway, scratching their heads, looking pale.

"Sorry, sis," said Fred to Ginny. "We just wanted to save some time."

"Yeah, those suitcases are heavy."

Ginny gave them both a dark look – but I knew she wasn't really angry at them.

"Well you two really need to work on your aim" I said. "Otherwise we'll get bloody _slaughtered_ at Quidditch this year."

"It's not the –"

But George wasn't able to finish his sentence – Molly came back into the hallway, carrying bandages, and her face turned an even deeper shade of red when she saw the twins.

"YOU TWO GET OUT OF MY SIGHT, NOW! GO AND HELP THE OTHERS BRING THE LUGGAGE OUTSIDE, AND I DON'T WANT TO HEAR A SINGLE WORD COMING OUT OF YOUR MOUTHS!"

They both hurried out of the house – I turned back to Molly, who was now patching Ginny up. Mrs. Black was still screaming at the top of her lungs, and I thought about shutting her up, but there was so much noise, as Hermione and the others starting getting their own stuff from upstairs, that it really wouldn't be worth it.

I grabbed my suitcase and followed the twins outside. Fortunately, it was sunny and warm outside – the fresh air and the feeling of the sun on my skin instantly made me feel better. I walked to the twins.

"All right?" asked George as I slid my arms around him.

"Better now," I said. "I look bloody awful, though. Fire Whiskey is not good for me."

"Rubbish," he replied. "You're gorgeous. You always are."

I smiled, shaking my head, and gave him a quick kiss. I turned to Fred, expecting the usual snarky comment, but he wasn't even looking at us. His eyes were glued to the door as a large, black dog walked outside – Sirius, no doubt. I had never seen him in his Animagi form.

"That is _brilliant._ We really should look into this, George…"

"What, how to transform yourself into a huge dog?" I smirked, putting my head on George's chest.

"Not necessarily a _dog_ …"

"What animal d'you reckon you'd be, Fred?" asked George, eyebrow raised.

"I'd bet on something like… a sloth," I suggested.

Fred glared at me. I smiled brightly at him.

"It's just – how you walk!"

He was shaking his head – but didn't reply, as Molly finally appeared and we started walking to King's Cross Station which was really close to Sirius' house. The latter was obviously very happy to finally be outside – he ran around like mad, chasing after birds and yapping loudly.

We reached Platform 9 and three quarters a few minutes before eleven with Lupin behind us. It was extremely busy, as always. We had only been there for a few seconds when a familiar face jumped in front of us.

"LEE!" I yelled excitedly.

I hugged him tightly – I was really glad to see him again. He was grinning from ear to ear – and then saw the huge dog beside Harry.

"Woah! When did you get a dog?"

I exchanged looks with the twins – Lee didn't know anything about Sirius or the Order.

"Er – this summer," said Fred, clearly uncomfortable with the idea of lying to his best friend.

But they were planning to tell Lee as soon as we got to Hogwarts – it just wasn't safe over mail. I was going to do the same with Angelina. We then said goodbye to everybody, and before long the Hogwarts Express was turning the corner and speeding up.

Lee had already reserved a compartment for us, and as soon as we sat down the boys started to talk about business and the testing system they wanted to install at the castle.

"There's been a development," said Fred grimly.

"It's not good, mate," nodded George.

"What?" asked Lee anxiously.

"We'll have to watch our backs – Hermione's been named Prefect, and…"

"And who's the other one? D'you know?"

"It's Ron."

Lee looked as surprised as we all had been – but soon smiled, saying that it was 'no biggie'. That's what I liked most about Lee – the never-ending optimistic. I was going to ask if he had seen Angelina or Alicia when the compartment door slid open.

"There you are!" cried out a familiar voice.

I jumped into the arms of Angelina and Alicia, shrieking loudly.

"I missed you so much!" I said, hugging them.

"Well I know what your Animagi would be, Adds," said Fred behind me.

I glanced at him, eyebrow raised.

"It's got to be a Mandrake, you nearly made all of us go deaf with that screaming…"

"Oh, bugger off," I said, shaking my head.

"Well, hello, boys," said Angelina to Fred, George and Lee – even though I could see that her eyes were glued to Fred.

"Hello, ladies," said Lee with a bright smile. "Charming as ever, I see…"

"Cut it off, Lee," sighed Alicia. "Your 'flirt' has not worked for six years, it won't work this year either."

Lee's smile faded – and the turned to the window, clearly scolding. Me, Angelina and Alicia chuckled.

"Where have you guys been? I reckoned you had abandoned me to those three" I said.

"We had our own compartment, with Mel and Pam," said Angelina. "When you didn't show up, we thought to search for you."

"Happy you did. Let's go, we need to talk."

"Yes, we do. All right, see you later, boys!" said Alicia.

We only heard grunts back. Shaking my head, I stood up and started to follow the girls out of the small compartment.

"Adds?"

I turned to George, who was smirking.

"Huh?"

"You're forgetting something."

I couldn't help but grin – and threw myself on the seat next to him, giving him a kiss.

"Oooh, that's so cute!" I heard Alicia say.

" _Not_ the first word that comes to mind," grunted Fred.

I broke the kiss, and squeezed his hand.

"I'll see you later."

"Don't keep me waiting too long."

I smiled, gave him a quick kiss and followed the girls in the small hallway, closing the compartment door behind me. The train was cramped – everyone was walking around, joking and talking, and the trolley created some serious traffic near the lavatories. I sighed loudly, making Angelina's hair dance in front of me.

"Bloody hell!" I muttered. "We'll be at Hogwarts before we make it to the compartment."

"I don't know what is taking so long –"

"Hi, Alicia."

The three of us turned to the source of the unknown voice. At first, I didn't recognize the bloke who had just appeared behind us. It was only when I looked down at his robes that I was the 'Head Boy' badge. _Oh._ Ethan Wellington. The previous prefect – and also, very-possibly-a-werewolf.

"Hi, Ethan," replied Alicia in an uncertain tone.

"Did you have a good summer?"

"Sure."

"Brilliant."

The exchange between them was so awkward I felt bad for them – fortunately, the trolley finally started to go forward again, and the path to the compartment was cleared.

"Well, I'll see you 'round," said Alicia.

"Yeah. Brilliant."

His eyes then travelled to Angelina, and to me – I smiled awkwardly, and grabbed both my friends' arms and we hurried to the compartment, closing the door behind us.

"What _was_ that?" I blurted out.

"Was that _Ethan Wellington_? The prefect?" asked Angelina.

"Looks like he's Head Boy now," muttered Alicia.

"And grew a _beard,_ " I snickered.

"And fancies Alicia!" added Angelina with a smile.

Me and Angelina chuckled – Alicia only blushed, shaking her head. Then we turned around, and hugged Melinda and Pam, asking them about their summer.

"It was fine," shrugged Pam, who had always been more secretive.

"Mine was _marvelous,_ " said Melinda with her infamous high-pitched voice. "We went to the beach, and I met this _guy_ , he was a "life-guardian" or something like that, so he was always in a swimsuit…"

Melinda then told us everything about her summer fling with the "life-guardian" at the beach – her stories were always interesting, because she was such a enthusiastic story-teller – and a funny one, too. Time flew as we talked without stopping – and I found myself smiling, because after spending almost my entire summer with boys, it was nice to be surrounded by girls. Nothing beat girl talk, after all.


	40. vol II : chapter ten

_Here's the new chapter, as promised!  
I hope you guys like it. Thank you for the reviews/alerts/etc. :)  
Enjoy! x_

* * *

 **wildest dreams  
** VOLUME II **  
**

* * *

 **CHAPTER TEN**

* * *

Melinda and Pam had gone for a stroll, and Angelina was telling us about her vacation in Spain when the compartment door slid open. I arched an eyebrow – it was Fred, and he looked pale.

"What's up with you?" I asked.

He ignored me, his eyes glued on Angelina.

"Can I talk to you?"

I looked at her – she nodded slowly, her lips tightly shut together. We all watched her as she stood up and followed Fred outside in complete silence.

" _What is up with today_? First the weird-werewolf-Head-Boy acting all matey-matey, and then this? Have boys always been this weird, or am I just starting to notice?"

But Alicia only looked worried.

"That didn't sound good, you know."

I frowned.

"What d'you mean?"

She shrugged.

"I don't know. Just didn't sound good."

My eyes widened as I understood what she meant.

"You don't reckon –"

"I'm just saying."

"It better not be, or I swear on all my Quidditch merchandise _I will murder him_."

I was only joking, of course. I never thought Fred could break up with Angelina – I knew how much he liked her. I knew him good enough to see that. But when Angelina came back to the compartment, a few minutes later, her eyes red and glistening with tears, I knew Alicia had been right.

"Oh, Angie!"

She hadn't even said a word – she just sat down, and I pulled her into a hug, and she started sobbing. We let her cry for a moment – and then, Alicia squeezed her hand.

"Angie, what happened?"

She pulled away from me, rubbing her eyes, looking absolutely devastated.

"It's Fred," she said in a broken voice. "He – he broke up with – with me."

"WHAT?!"

I stared at her in shock. I couldn't believe it – that _prat!_ The tears started flowing from Angelina's eyes again, as we both held her hands.

"I just – I – I knew things were weird between us – he didn't write – write to me all summer…"

"He didn't?" said Alicia.

I shook my head. I knew Fred hadn't written to Angelina all summer, he had told me so himself – but I only thought it was because he was shy, or didn't know what to say. I mean, the twins were never very fond of letters. I always had to threaten them with a Howler so that they would write back to me during the first summers we knew each other.

"…but I tried not to think too much of it – I thought things would get better when – when we would see each other again, but – but clearly I was wrong! I'm so stupid!"

"You're not stupid, Angie, don't say that," said Alicia.

"But I am! I should've known!"

It broke my heart to see her like this. I could only imagine how I would feel if George suddenly broke up with me, with no word of warning, the moment we saw each other again after being apart. What was Fred thinking?! I was in such a state of shock I couldn't think of anything good to say to soothe her tears.

"What did he tell you? He gave you a reason, I hope?" asked Alicia.

Angelina shrugged, sniffling.

"Not really. He just said 'I don't think we should date anymore' and walked away."

 _Rubbish!_ I was desperately searching in my mind for any hint that Fred might have given during the summer about wanting to break up with Angelina – but I couldn't find any.

"Did you know?" suddenly said Angelina.

I lifted my eyes, meeting her stare. Her eyes were red and glistening with tears. I stared back at her.

"What?"

"Did you _know_?" she repeated. "That he wanted to break up with me?"

"No, I swear, Angie, I didn't –"

"You've spent all summer with them!"

"I know, but –"

"Surely he must've said something! Or at least to George, and then he –"

"Angie!" I exclaimed, a little louder. "I swear to you, on my bloody _grave_ , that I didn't know about this!"

She gave me a look – a look that clearly meant 'I don't believe you'. I stared at her for a few seconds, and then turned to Alicia for support. She hesitated.

"I didn't know," I said quietly. "I would've told you. You need to believe that I would tell you."

Silence followed my words. I knew that Angelina was only looking for someone to blame – and that fell on me. She just needed some time. But I couldn't just stand still and wait for her anger and pain to fade – that just wasn't in my nature. I had to do something. And the first thing that I had to do was talk to Fred Weasley, AKA my new biggest enemy.

Sighing deeply, I stood up.

"Where are you going ?" asked Alicia.

"I'm going to talk to the bloody imbecile," I mumbled before stumbling out of the compartment, slamming the door behind me.

A dark-haired bloke shot me a weird look from a few feet away – I ignored him. I was way to fed up to care that he thought I was a madwoman. I started making my way down to the twins' and Lee's compartment, the anger rising in my throat, ignoring everyone and everything around me. Well, until someone stopped me.

"Look who's here. My _favorite_ Gryffindor."

I looked up. _Of course_. Just what I needed right now – Graham Montague, in all his pathetic glory, with the same smug face he always carried around. I noticed he was taller, and bigger than last year – he looked like he could give Hagrid a run of his money.

" _What_ do you want?" I hissed.

He smiled arrogantly at me, crossing his arms, his friend right beside him – an imbecile who, I remembered very well from Care of Magical Creatures, had been bitten by some weird-looking bird and had spent three days in the Hospital Wings vomiting his guts out.

"Oh – she's in a bad mood, it seems."

"Why do you speak about me in the third person? I'm right here in front of you, you stupid git."

"What happened to you, Harlowe? What made you so angry? Did you fight with that pathetic excuse of a Weasel?"

"Bloody hell…"

"Did he drop you like the sad, stinky Mudblood you are?"

"I don't have time for this" I muttered, shaking my head.

I walked past him, giving him in the process a hard nudge in the ribs – he didn't even flinch.

"I'll see you around the castle, Harlowe! I'd watch my back if I were you!"

I waited I couldn't hear his sly laugh until I cursed loudly between my teeth. This year would be the year I finally punched him in the face, I thought. I could care less about how many nights of detention it would give me – that prat deserved that I broke his nose.

I finally made it to the compartment, my blood boiling in my veins, and opened the door brutally – it bounced and made a weird shrieking noise.

"Oi!" exclaimed three voices.

"YOU!" I cried out, pointing at Fred.

There was a short silence as Fred, George and Lee stared at me.

"Adds, you all right?" asked George.

"You," I repeated, my eyes glued on Fred. "I need to talk to you. Now."

"What did I do ?!"

I laughed loudly – sarcastically, of course.

"What did you do? You know bloody well what you've done, Frederick Weasley!"

"What is going on?" asked Lee.

"Fred has lost his bloody mind, that's what's going on!"

Fred wasn't even looking at me – he stared down at the poster in his hands. I was so angry and confused by his reaction – Fred would normally be the first one to stand up and defend himself – that I didn't even react when George took me by the arm and led me outside the compartment.

"Addy, calm down, will you? What's wrong?" said George.

I stared at him.

"You don't know?! Don't you know what your stupid git of a brother did?!"

"What?"

"He broke up with Angelina!" I cried out.

"Oh, _that_."

I had to bite my tongue to keep from swearing like the Irishman my uncle thought was hidden inside me.

"What d'you mean, _that_?! YOU KNEW?!"

"Adds, calm down."

"HOW COULD YOU NOT TELL ME –"

"STOP YELLING."

I clenched my jaw, looking down at my own hands.

"Sorry," I muttered.

George only sighed, and rubbed his temples.

"I just – I don't understand," I said, looking up at him. "I thought things were fine between them. And now, Angelina's devastated, and I don't know what to tell her."

"I know. I'd like to help you with that, but honestly, I don't know much more than you. Fred's just told me a couple days ago that he was thinking about it. Didn't reckon he would actually do it until he did."

"But _why_? I thought he liked her."

"He did, and I'm pretty sure he still does. But y'know how he is, he gets all fuzzy and weird when it's time to talk about his feelings. It's just how he is."

I sighed.

"He can be such a tosser sometimes."

"Hey, careful. We may be different in a lot of ways but we're still twins."

I looked up at George – and smiled at the smirk on his face. Shaking my head, I threw my arms around his waist and hugged him close.

"What am I supposed to tell Angie? She's fed up with me, she reckons I knew about it and hid it from her."

"That's rubbish, and she knows it. She'll come 'round. Everybody knows you can't keep your mouth shut."

"Hey!" I exclaimed, slapping his shoulder.

We stayed like that for a second. I debated just going back to Angelina and leaving Fred be – but despite everything George had told me, I was still mad at him, and I would be until he explained himself.

"Can't you talk to him?" I asked George. "Just tell him to explain himself to Angie, at least. Give her a reason. 'Cause I know her, she'll just blame herself."

"I'll try."

"Thank you."

I turned to the compartment door, breathing in deeply.

"Go easy on him, Adds," I heard George say.

I opened the door – Fred and Lee's eyes turned to me.

"Hey," I said.

"Are you going to yell again?" sighed Fred, looking exasperated.

"No," I replied through gritted teeth. "But that doesn't mean I'm not still fed up with you, Fred."

"Oh, oh," said Lee.

I ignored him.

"You acted like a royal prat, and you hurt my friend, and I'm not going to let you go so easily. So you better start working on that apology right now because you're going to need a really good one."

Fred didn't flinch from my stare – I didn't expect him to. But I could still see that the whole situation bothered him. If only he would just talk to me, and explain himself, it would all be over very quickly. But all Weasleys were stubborn, and Fred was no exception.

"I'll see you at the Feast."

As I closed the compartment door on my way out, I could hear Lee sigh and say quietly:

"Women."

When I got back at the compartment, Angelina's eyes were dry – but still red. As soon as I opened the door, Angelina threw herself in my arms.

"I'm so sorry !" she shrieked in my ear. "I'm so sorry, I was such a tosser!"

"What?" I said, startled.

"I had no right of accusing you like I did! _Of course_ you would have told me, I don't know what I thought otherwise!"

I smiled, hugging my friend back, her long, dark hair tickling my nose.

"It's all right, Angie. Don't worry about it for a second."

"I was so stupid," she said, shaking her head.

"You weren't stupid, stop saying that."

"But I was! You're my best friend, of course you would have told me."

"And it's like I told her," said Alicia. "You can't keep a secret to save your life, Addy."

I chuckled, sitting down next to Angelina.

"Funny. George just told me the same exact thing."

There was a short silence before Angelina spoke.

"Did you see Fred?"

Her voice was quiet, like she didn't want to say his name too loud.

"I did. Well. More like screamed at him, threatened him."

"What did he say?" asked Alicia.

"Not much. Didn't really let him. But I think he understood that if he doesn't soon apologize or explain himself, he'll have all of our wraths descend upon him. And even the biggest fool in the world wouldn't want that."

Angelina smiled as I squeezed her hand.

"You're gonna be all right, Angie. We've got your back."

"Thank you."

I hugged her again – and then we decided to go hunt down the trolley to buy as much candy as we possibly could. We spent the rest of the train journey stuffing ourselves and talking Quidditch.

Soon it was twilight – and in the far distance, through the window, I was Hogwarts appear. _Home_ , I thought. _For one last time._

* * *

 _Please don't forget to review!  
Also, I don't think I'll be able to update before Christmas, so I want to wish you all a very, very Happy Christmas :) I hope you'll all have the greatest time with the people you love! 3 xx_


	41. vol II : chapter eleven

_Hi everyone!_  
 _First of all, I want to wish you all a very Happy New Year! I wish you all success, health and kindness :)_  
 _Secondly, I want to thank you for all your alerts, favorites and reviews - I really do appreciate them._  
 _I'm sorry I wasn't able to update before - I worked a lot during the holidays, but I also took some time to get ahead in writing so that you wouldn't have to wait too long between chapters. So that's a good thing for you! :)_  
 _Enjoy this one! And please review! xx_

* * *

 **wildest dreams  
** VOLUME II

* * *

 **CHAPTER ELEVEN**

* * *

The Great Hall looked just as majestic as ever. The candles were burning bright above our heads as we sat down at the Gryffindor table. Angelina carefully seated as far away from Fred as she could, looking down at her empty silver plate. Lee was talking about the upcoming feast, and how he had missed Hogwarts' food – nothing unusual. I was going to quietly ask George if he had talked to Fred but he was staring at the teacher's table intensely – as were the others.

"George?"

He didn't react, so I looked ahead to see what was the object of his attention, and my jaw dropped when I did.

" _Bloody hell."_

I didn't know why I hadn't noticed her earlier. It was hard to miss her, after all – the bright pink jacket she was wearing contrasted abruptly with the rest of the room. A matching pink hat was settled on her head, and even though I couldn't see her traits clearly from where I was seating, I could see she was smiling oddly, her eyes travelling from student to student as if she was studying each of us.

" _What_ is that?" asked Fred, his eyes as wide as teacups.

"The new Defense teacher, I reckon," Alicia answered faintly.

We all looked at her in dread. I was speechless – she didn't look like the kind of person Dumbledore would hire. Sure, appearances were deceiving – but there was something about her that I instantly disliked. Her smile, probably – it looked arrogant, superior, and fake.

"Oh, _no_ …" muttered Alicia.

I turned to her – she suddenly looked very pale.

"What's wrong?" asked Fred.

" _No, no, no…_ Not _her_!"

I stared at her as she put her head into her hands, shaking it desperately.

"Alicia, what's wrong?" I insisted.

"She's back what's wrong" she muttered from behind her hands.

"Who's back?"

" _Her_!"

She pointed the teacher's table – and that's when I finally saw Grubbly-Plank. I bit my lip. Her and Alicia had never gotten along. Alicia loved Care of Magical Creatures, and she was really good at it – but the old teacher seemed to had made it her mission to make Alicia's life miserable when she was in her class. She had been so happy when Hagrid had taken over – she was such in a good mood that she took us all to Hogsmeade and bought three rounds of Butterbeer.

"I'm sorry, Ali," I said with a smile.

"Where's Hagrid, though?" asked Lee.

I shrugged.

"Maybe he's on holiday."

We weren't able to discuss the subject further as the Sorting Hat appeared and sang his song. I listened to him attentively, surprised that he had changed the words – but quickly felt grim as he spoke of future battles and darkness.

"Well, this is it" said Fred after the fact. "The Sorting Hat has officially gone from dreadfully boring to utterly depressing."

I glanced at Angelina as George, Lee and Alicia chuckled – she was looking down at her empty plate again, but I could see she was angry. I just wanted to hug her and tell her to not worry about Fred, but I doubted that it would help. Knowing Angelina, she would probably need some time alone to think about it all.

I felt myself dozing off halfway through Repartition – George had to give me a nudge when the feast finally started as I half-asleep and my head nearly fell in the gravy that had just appeared in front of me. I couldn't wait to be in my bed upstairs, settled in the warm, soft sheets. I ate slowly, half-listening to the conversations around me.

"You all right?" whispered George in my ear.

I nodded.

"I just love this food so much," suddenly said Lee, his hands full of chicken wings.

He looked so happy, I couldn't help but grin.

"You should marry an House-Elf, then," I said.

"Yeah, mate," nodded George. "She can make you chicken wings every night for the rest of your life. It might get complicated when it comes to snogging, though… You'll have to bend down, or something…"

"Piss off."

"That wouldn't be different from you two, though, eh?" intervened Fred, pointing me and George.

"Hey, I'm not that short! He's the giant," I retaliated.

"Did you just call me a giant?"

"A _handsome_ giant."

We smiled at each other, and I really felt like kissing him – but, vividly aware of Angelina's presence just a few seats away, I resolved to simply tugging him on the arm.

I had nearly forgotten about the woman in pink when Dumbledore stood up to make his speech. As I turned to him, my gaze was immediately attracted to her – she really was quite a sight. Eager to see what Dumbledore had to say, I shushed Lee and Alicia who were debating something about the Holyhead Harpies' new Chaser.

"Well, now that we are all digesting another magnificent feast, I beg a few moments of your attention for the usual start-of-term notices. First years ought to know that the forest in the grounds is out of bounds to students – and a few of our older students ought to know by now too."

I chuckled.

"Mr. Filch, the caretaker, has asked me, for what he tells me is the four hundred and sixty-second time, to remind you all that magic is not permitted in corridors between classes, nor are a number of other things, all of which can be checked on the extensive list now fastened to Mr. Filch's office door."

"Reckon he'll have to update that list before long," whispered Fred to his brother as I smirked.

"We have had two changes in staffing this year. We are very pleased to welcome back Professor Grubbly-Plank," – I heard Alicia sigh loudly – "who will be taking Care of Magical Creatures; we are also delighted to introduce Professor Umbridge, our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher."

So that was her name – _Umbridge_. I glanced at her as Dumbledore started talking about Quidditch tryouts – she slowly stood up, her smile still plastered on her face. It wasn't long before the director stopped talking, and the woman cleared her throat to make it obvious that she wanted to make a speech. I felt incredibly uncomfortable – I had never seen anybody interrupt Dumbledore before.

"Thank you, Headmaster, for those kind words of welcome."

Her voice was as awful as her sense of fashion – it was too high-pitched, like the voice of a small child, and there was a tone of superiority that I instantly disliked. I glanced at George, and saw that he was intensely looking at Umbridge, like he was fascinated by her.

"Well, it is lovely to be back at Hogwarts, I must say! And to see such happy little faces looking back at me!"

 _Happy little faces?_ I stared at her, frowning. Why was she talking to us like we were small children? I exchanged a look with Alicia – she looked just as appalled as me.

"I am very much looking forward to getting to know you all, and I'm sure we'll be very good friends!"

"That's likely," said Fred and George quietly.

Umbridge seemed to notice the discreet giggles that followed at the Gryffindor Table – but quickly cleared her throat and continued her speech.

"The Ministry of Magic has always considered the education of young witches and wizards to be of vital importance. The rare gifts with which you were born…"

I quickly lost focus in what she was saying, my mind wandering to the Angelina-Fred situation. Would their break up affect our group of friends? Angelina hadn't said anything since me and Alicia were alone with her on the train. What if she never wanted to be around Fred? Would I have to make a choice between the two? I felt incredibly selfish to worry about myself – but I couldn't help it. I didn't want to have to separate my time between Angelina and the twins. I glanced at her – she seemed to be listening to Umbridge's speech, unlike many of us. I promised myself to talk to her when I felt the time would be right.

I felt George's hand slip into mine – I looked up to meet his gaze. He was smiling softly, and I squeezed his hand. Discreetly, he bent back towards me.

"I really want to kiss you right now," he whispered in my hear, making my hair dance.

"Why aren't you?" I asked back, smirking.

"I'm pretty sure Mrs. I-Love-Pink-A-Little-Too-Much would think of it as impolite."

"Since when are you worried about what other people think, Mr. Weasley?"

He chuckled, but before he could answer, people around us started clapping and we realized that Umbridge had finished her speech. George winked at me before turning to Dumbledore, who had stood up again. He announced that Quidditch tryouts would be the next Friday – I felt myself grinning. I couldn't wait. We had to find a new Keeper, after all, since there had been no Quidditch last year.

Dumbledore dismissed everyone shortly after that – we quickly stood up to beat the crowd and made it upstairs a few minutes later. I jumped on the couch that was the closest to the fireplace – I was incredibly cold. Fred and George didn't sit down with the rest of us – they went straight to the pinning board.

"What are they doing?" asked Alicia.

"Putting up posters for their products. They want to hire first years to try them out."

"I'm not sure Hermione will allow that," said Angelina.

I looked at her – that was the first thing she had said all night.

"I wish her good luck if she wants to argue with them," chuckled Lee.

Sighing loudly, Lee then took his shoes off, throwing them across the room and nearly hitting a third-year on the back of the head – then proceeded to stretch out on the couch and putting his feet on my thighs.

"Get off!" I cried out, pushing them away.

"C'mon, I'm tired…"

"No! Your feet stink!"

"They don't!"

"Yes they do!"

"They don't –"

"I'm going to bed."

Me and Lee stopped abruptly at Angelina's words – she quickly got up and went up the stairs to the dormitory. I bit my lip, suddenly feeling bad. Lee took advantage of my silence to put his feet on my thighs again – I sighed loudly, but didn't feel like arguing again. Was it insensitive of us to joke around Angelina? I knew she was sad, but I firmly believed that having a bit of laugh always made things better. But maybe that was just me.

Fred and George came back shortly after that – and George quickly pushed Lee away from me, sitting down next to me and pulling me into his arms. I smiled softly. Even though I was worried about Angelina, this felt right – me, George, and a nice, warm fire.

"What house d'you reckon she was in?" said Fred.

"Who?" I asked.

"That horrifying pink woman."

"To wear that kind of hat she just _had_ to be in Slytherin," muttered Alicia.

I chuckled, letting my mind wander off, thinking about Angelina, and Umbridge, and my parents, and everything and nothing at once. The warmth of the fire felt good on my face, and the feel of my fingers around George's made me feel safe. I turned to him – he too was staring into the fire. I quickly kissed him on the cheek, and it seemed to startle him.

"What was that?" he said, arching an eyebrow.

"Nothing."

"No, no, I didn't quite get what you meant – do it again."

I shook my head, unable to stop from smiling. I approached to kiss him on the cheek again, but he turned his face at the last second so that my lips landed on his.

"Cheater!" I cried out, chuckling.

"You love it."

I gave him a nudge on the shoulder, blushing slightly. _Yes, I did. Of course I did._


	42. vol II : chapter twelve

_Hi everyone!  
_ _Here's a new chapter, I hope you like it.  
_ _I would like to dedicate it to Mr. Alan Rickman, who passed away yesterday. He was such a great man, such a talented actor, and the perfect Severus. We'll miss him. Rest in peace, Mr. Rickman.  
Thank you to everyone who reviewed (I love you guys so much) and all the people following this story.  
Enjoy xx_

* * *

 **wildest dreams  
VOLUME II**

* * *

 **CHAPTER TWELVE**

* * *

I woke up the next morning to the sound of heavy pouring rain. I opened an eye and looked by the window. _Wonderful_. A great way to start off the year. Sighing softly, I sat up and opened my curtains. Angelina was already up, of course.

"Hey," I said softly, not wanting to startle her.

She looked up and gave me a weak smile. I hadn't had the chance to talk to her the previous night – when I had gone up to the dormitory, her curtains were already drawn.

"How are you feeling ?"

She shrugged as she laced her shoes. I hesitated – should I ask her about Fred? Maybe she didn't want to talk about it. I spent so much time thinking about what I should say that ended up speaking first.

"Look, I don't want things to be weird."

"Oh," was all I managed to answer.

"I mean – yes, Fred broke up with me. That's that. But that doesn't mean you can't be friends with him anymore, or that I'll stop being your friend. I might take some distance, y'know – I don't really want to hang out around him right now."

"Of course, that's perfectly understandable. Even I don't want to see him right now, the _prat –_ "

"Addy."

"What?"

"Don't."

I bit my lip as I stared at her – she looked so sad. Disappointed. Angry. Ashamed. I just wanted to hug her as hard as I could, tell her that everything would be all right, but before I could move she was already on her way downstairs. I sighed and started to get ready for the first day of class.

I went down to the Great Hall with Alicia, where we met with the others. I noticed that Angelina wasn't there.

"D'you know where Angie is?" I asked the boys as I sat down.

Fred carefully looked away, and George shrugged.

"Didn't see her this morning. Thought she was with you," answered Lee, his mouth full of scrambled eggs.

"She left early. That's odd."

"Schedules," said George, handing me a piece of parchment.

I eagerly grabbed it and looked it over. _Blimey._ It was going to be a busy year.

"We've got the pink woman on Tuesday," said Fred.

"I wonder what she'll be like," said Alicia.

"Probably gonna teach us how to turn everything pink."

I shook my head at George's comment, staring down at my schedule.

"How's yours?" I asked him.

"Very uninteresting."

"Let me see."

"I threw it away."

"What ?"

"Well it's not like I'm planning to go to class anyway."

I rolled my eyes at him. The twins had never been the best of students, but at least they usually showed up to class. Usually.

"Have you had any applicants?"

"Two, actually," said Fred. "One of them was terrified but he relaxed as soon as we talked about gold. I guessed those kind of issues start at an early age…"

"Well, I heard Hermione's furious," interrupted Alicia.

"She can be as angry as she wants, that's not going to stop us."

As I was looking around the Great Hall, I spotted Angelina talking to Harry. I frowned, wondering what she had to say to him. However, I didn't wonder for long, as she headed straight for us as soon as she was done talking to Harry. Her hair was up, and she looked determined. She took the seat next to Lee, who abruptly stopped his story about a distant relative who had lost his fortune playing something called "the lottery" – a Muggle thing.

"There's something I want to tell you," said Angelina.

We all stared at her in silence, waiting for the rest.

"I've been made Quidditch Captain."

I grinned as Alicia clapped.

"Congrats, Angie!" said Lee.

"You're going to be great," nodded Alicia.

She slightly blushed, smiling. I glanced at Fred – he looked a little pale. I could only guess that he was imagining what practices would be like for him now.

"Well, we have to find a new Keeper now that Wood's gone. Tryouts will be on Friday at five, and I want you all there. Even you, Addy."

"I wouldn't miss it for anything in the world."

"You'll try out, I hope, Adds?" said Fred, feigning enthusiasm.

"Funny. Very funny," I said, glaring at him, while the others laughed.

McGonagall was still going around the table handing schedules – we soon heard Ron groan as he looked at his. Fred and George turned to see what he had to say, but I wanted to talk to Angelina.

"Looks like we'll have Professor Vector on Friday mornings again," I told her.

"Yeah," she answered vaguely.

"It's not so bad. She isn't as grumpy as McGonagall in the morning."

"Seventh year with her's supposed to be the hardest, though."

"Oh."

There was a short silence – I could see that even though we were talking, she wasn't really into our conversation – her eyes kept glancing at Fred who was talking loudly a few seats away.

"I knew it would be you," I said, catching her attention.

"What d'you mean?"

"About the team. Oliver had said so to me, when he left Hogwarts. Said there was no doubt he would choose you, that you were the best for the job."

She blushed a little, and I was glad to see a smile spread on her face.

"That's nice of him."

"He could be nice, sometimes. As long as he wasn't on the Pitch."

We both chuckled – Oliver's speeches on the Pitch were things of legend.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Didn't want to ruin the surprise."

She smiled again, and for a moment I thought I had sufficiently distracted her, but her eyes turned to Fred again, and the smile was soon gone.

"Angie –"

"I have to go to Herbology. I'll see you at lunch."

"Yeah."

I quietly looked at her leave, sighing softly – if only I could find something to make her feel better... A trip to the kitchens? The idea slowly formed in my mind, and soon my plan was ready. Smiling, already picturing her reaction in my head, I turned to the twins, who were talking about their Snackboxes to Hermione.

"You'll be singing a different tune soon enough, Hermione. You're starting your fifth year, you'll be begging us for a Snackbox before long."

"And why would starting fifth year mean I want a Skiving Snackbox?"

"Fifth year's O.W.L. year."

"So?"

"So you've got your exams coming up, haven't you? They'll be keeping your noses so hard to that grindstone they'll be rubbed raw."

"Half our year had minor breakdowns coming up to O.W.L.s. Tears and tantrums… Patricia Stimpson kept coming over faint…"

 _That poor girl,_ I thought as I remembered the time she fainted during Potions. Snape hadn't even flinched, looking tremendously unsurprised and had asked the boys to bring her to the Infirmary.

"Kenneth Towler came out in boils, d'you remember?" asked Fred.

"That's 'cause you put Bulbadox Power in his pajamas."

"Oh yeah, I'd forgotten… Hard to keep track sometimes, isn't it?"

"Even Addy broke into tears during Charms class."

I let out a cry of protest.

"Oi! That wasn't because of the exams! How many times do I have to bloody tell you, it was Montague who cast a Sobbing charm at me!"

"Sure, whatever you keep telling yourself, Adds," shrugged Fred.

I glared at him.

"Watch your words, Weasley. I still haven't forgiven you, y'know."

"I expected nothing less of you."

"Anyway," said George, clearing his throat, "it's a nightmare of a year, the fifth. If you care about exam results anyway. Fred and I managed to keep our spirits up somehow."

"Yeah… you got, what was it, three O.W.L.s each?" asked Ron.

"Yep"nodded Fred. "But we feel our futures lie outside the world of academic achievement."

"We seriously debated whether we were going to bother coming back for our seventh year, now that we've got –"

George suddenly stopped mid-sentence, but I didn't focus on what he said next. I stared at him, astounded. Had he and Fred seriously considered not coming back to Hogwarts? They hadn't told me about that. I looked down at my half-eaten breakfast, suddenly feeling left out. Why hadn't they told me? Maybe they had already taken their decision before I arrived at Grimmald Place, but still, it was a big deal.

"You coming, Adds?"

The sound of my name brought me back to reality, and I looked up to George who was staring back at me, a stack of toast in his right hand. He and Fred had gotten up, ready to leave.

"Oh – right, sure."

I took one last sip of my orange juice and followed them out of the Great Hall.

"We should probably head to Binns' class, I think third-year Hufflepuffs have a class," said Fred, taking out a few Extendable Ears from his pocket.

"Yeah, good plan" nodded George. "And that's closest to Herbology."

"Huh, y'know what?" I said, stopping.

They turned to look at me, eyebrows arched. They looked so similar at that moment – messy hair, toasts in hands, I almost had trouble telling them apart.

"I think I might head up to the common room. I've got a free period, I might try and get some reading done."

"All right," shrugged Fred, even though he had arched an eyebrow at the last part of my sentence.

"You okay?" asked George.

"Yeah. I'll see you guys later."

George took a step towards me, but I quickly smiled, waved and turned around to start walking in the opposite direction. I didn't know what was wrong with me, why I was so upset – the twins didn't have to tell me _everything._ They had no obligation to do so. I didn't tell them every single thing about me. But the idea of not coming back to Hogwarts – that was huge, wasn't it? Maybe I was overreacting. I probably was.

After briefly visiting the kitchens to put my plan for Angelina into place, I decided to go back to the Common Room. I was nearly there when I heard someone call my name – my full name.

"Adelaide!"

I stopped abruptly, looking behind me. I frowned when I saw Ethan Wellington jogging towards me. What did _he_ want?

"Hi," he said when he reached me.

"Hello," I answered awkwardly.

Even though he had gotten older – he had a bloody beard, after all – he still had the same smile, the smile that I had always found a little creepy.

"Are you busy?"

"Er – no, not really, I'm going to the common room…" I answered, but automatically regretted it.

"Brilliant! Me too! Can I join you?"

"Er – sure…"

"Brilliant!"

He really had to stop saying 'brilliant' all the time. But then, that might be like asking to stop saying 'bloody' all the time. We started walking, and he immediately started the conversation, asking me about my schedule, and telling me 'how odd is it that it's our last year?', and how he would miss the castles and the classes. He basically talked the whole way – I almost didn't say anything – which was fine by me. When we were almost at the Tower, I stopped.

"Look, Ethan, can I be honest with you?"

"Of course."

He looked a little startled – but was still smiling.

"I don't want you to get any wrong ideas."

"Okay…"

"You know I have a boyfriend, right?"

He stared at me as if I had just told him his cat was dead. I stared back, waiting for a reaction. I had never felt more awkward.

"What?" he finally blubbered out.

"I'm sorry, I just –"

"No, no, Adelaide – I wasn't flirting with you or anything."

"Oh."

I felt the blood drain out of my face. Well _that_ was embarrassing.

"I just – look, I'm going to be honest with you too."

"Okay," I replied, a little unsure that I wanted him to be.

"There's someone I fancy. That I really fancy, y'know. And it's not you – it's just… She's in your – how could I say – entourage, and I thought that if I became friends with you then maybe you could introduce me to her, and…"

"Are you talking about Alicia?"

Ethan's face went from pale pink to bright red in an instant. I nearly smiled.

"How – how do you know?"

"I just do," I said quickly. "Look, Ethan, Alicia's not the kind of person that will take on subtle hints. She's not good with that. If you fancy her, just tell her."

"Oh, I couldn't do that."

"Why not?"

"Because – because I can't!"

"What are you so afraid of?"

He scoffed.

"That she'll laugh at me!"

"She won't laugh at you, I promise."

But he didn't want to hear it – he kept shaking his head. I bit my lip, hesitating to offer him my help. I didn't know him very well, after all, but if there was a chance that it could work between him and Alicia, I didn't want to be the person to keep them away from each other.

"All right. I'll tell her about you."

"You will?"

The bright smile that appeared on his face brought one to mine.

"Yes, I will. But at some point you'll have to tell her. So, start practicing or something."

"All right. Cheers, Adelaide, that's really nice of you!"

"You're going to have to calling me Adelaide if you want me to help you."

His smile seemed to faint a little, but came back when he realized I was joking.

"Brilliant. I'll see you around then."

I shook my head as he turned to walk away, but I called out after him.

"Ethan!"

He turned around.

"Yeah?"

"I just wanted to say sorry. For what happened in second year."

He frowned – obviously, he didn't know what I talking about. _Maybe he forgot about it –_ which would be good, but I still felt like I needed to apologize.

"Y'know, when I… when I called you a… a werewolf."

I had talked so faintly I wasn't sure he had heard me – and it took him a few seconds to react. But then, he bursted out laughing – his laughter sure was loud.

"Bloody hell! I had forgotten about that."

I smiled awkwardly as he kept on laughing.

"Don't worry about it – seriously."

"Right. Great" I smiled, shaking my head.

"See you, Addy."

"See you, Mr. Werewolf."

He walked away, still laughing out loud. I shook my head, amused, momentarily forgetting about Angelina and the twins – I entered the common room, which was almost empty, went to get my Muggle Studies book with the good intention to get through a few chapters before class, but when I dropped in one of the couches and opened the book I could not concentrate. The words didn't mean anything, they jumbled around flew out of the pages – and my eyes felt heavy. _I could rest them, just for a second…_

I woke up in a jolt. Sharply looking behind me, I saw that a group of girls next to the window were laughing loudly – probably what had woken me… I froze – for how long had I been asleep? I looked for the nearest clock, my heart racing. Muggle Studies started in five minutes! Letting out a cry of panic which got me a few curious stares, I jumped from the couch and ran upstairs to grab my bag. I then ran halfway through the castle to where the class was held – I entered the room 2 minutes late. Burbage gave me a pointed look, but did not comment. I sat down at the nearest seat and breathed out, my heart racing so loudly I was sure everyone in the room could hear it. _Brilliant job, Addy. What a great way to start the school year._

After class, my stomach was rumbling like thunder – I hadn't eaten much at breakfast. When I entered the Great Hall, it was packed with students. I was able to squeeze between George and Lee, and grabbed a few pasties, some beans and toast. The latter gave me a strange look.

"What?"

"You all right?" he asked, squinting his eyes.

"I'm hungry."

He nodded – I squinted my eyes back at him.

"You have no right to judge me – look at your own plate."

"Fair point."

I shook my head, and felt a hand on my thigh.

"Hey," said George in my ear.

"Hey. How was Herbology?"

"Boring. We sold 3 Extendable Ears."

"That's great," I smiled as I was chewing on a pasty.

He stared back at me.

"You sure?"

"What d'you mean?"

"You sure it's 'great'?"

I frowned at him.

"Yes."

"Doesn't sound like it."

"Oh, c'mon, George. It's just – of course it's going to sell well. All your products are brilliant. I'm just not surprised – I knew you would be successful."

He stared at me for a few seconds, as if he was trying to decide whether to believe me or not – I smiled, trying to convince him, but he just looked away, joining Alicia and Fred's conversation about Friday's tryouts. I took another bite of my pasty, but it was suddenly much less tasty – what was wrong with me today?!

After lunch, we all went to Charms class – George held my hand the whole way, as he usually did, but we barely exchanged two words. Angelina wanted to partner up with me – and I accepted, not wanting to leave her alone, so George went to work with Alicia, and Fred and Lee sat together. I kept glancing at George throughout the whole class, looking for a sign that he was mad at me – but he only stared ahead of him quietly as Flitwick gave us his N.E.W.T. speech.

When the class was finally over, I said goodbye to everyone and turned the opposite way to get to History of Magic, which I was taking alone. Deep in my thoughts, I nearly screamed out of surprise when someone took my hand. I looked up and frowned at the sight of the familiar face.

"What are you doing?" I asked George.

"Walking with you," he answered simply.

"Why?"

He shrugged.

"You've been alone nearly all day. Thought you'd like some company."

He glanced at me, as if he wanted me to confirm – I smiled softly, squeezing his hand.

"I do. Thanks."

He smirked, grabbing my waist to pull me closer to him. We walked slowly to the first floor, and I told him about my walk with Ethan Wellington – he laughed so much at my poor attempt to apologize about the werewolf-incident that his eyes glistened with tears.

When we arrived at Classroom 4F, I was going to let go of his hand but he walked with me inside. I stared at him as he sat down at one of the desks, inviting me to do the same.

"Once again, what are you doing?"

"Attending class."

I glared at him.

"You're not taking History of Magic."

"So?"

"So, you really want to be bored to death for the next two hours?"

"I'm not going to be bored, I'm going to be with you."

"C'mon."

"What? I'm serious."

I shook my head, trying hard not to smile.

"You can't even be here. You didn't get the O.W.L.."

"You _really_ think Binns will notice? Bloke's so dead he probably doesn't _know_ he's a ghost."

I was still shaking my head.

"I can't believe you."

"Sit down, Adds."

I obliged, putting my heavy books on the desk. Binns arrived then, floated to the desk at the front of the class and started talking without further ado – his monotonous voice filled the room.

"You'll distract me," I whispered, but I was far from serious.

"I'll behave, I promise."

I snorted.

"You don't even know what that word means."

"Well that's just mean. I'm offended."

"No you're not."

"Yes I am."

I gave him a nudge in the ribs, but he caught my arm and held it against his chest. I sighed, even though I couldn't get rid of the stupid smile on my face.

"George."

"Yes?"

"Will you let my arm go? I have to take notes."

"I'll take notes for you."

I shook my head as he fumbled through my bag and got out parchment and ink – then he started scribbling, faking to listen to what Binns was saying.

"Goblins… yes, goblins… Boring? What? Yes, very boring indeed."

He had written down "I, Cuthbert Binns, am the most boring human being in History" and was underlining the word 'boring'. At this point, I was laughing so hard my sides hurt, with my arm still tightly held by George. And then he looked at me, a twinkle in his eye, and I suddenly so grateful for him, and so in love with him – yes, _in love with him_ , and I thought my heart would explode.


	43. vol II : chapter thirteen

_Good evening everyone!  
I hope you are all having a nice weekend._  
 _Here is a brand new chapter - and it's a long one! I hope you enjoy it._  
 _Thank you to everyone who reviewed and to everyone reading this - it's really nice to know that I have readers :)_  
 _Please don't be shy to tell me what you think, what is good and what is not so good - I'm always looking to improve!_  
 _Thank you again for everything, and enjoy! :) x_

* * *

 **wildest dreams  
** VOLUME II

* * *

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

* * *

I let out a long sigh when I sat down at dinner.

"I'd forgotten how exhausting school is," I muttered. "First day and I already have two rolls of parchment to do for…"

"9 hours, 37 minutes!" suddenly interrupted Fred.

I glared at him. George let out an annoyed grunt next to me.

"Excuse me?"

Fred was pointing at his watch, smiling brightly.

"Hand it over," he said, ignoring my glare.

George sighed, searched his pockets and handed him a Galleon. I instantly understood.

" _Did you two make a bet_?"

George only stared back at me, as if he was thinking about the right thing to say, but Fred quickly answered me, looking very proud of himself.

"How many hours before you started complaining about schoolwork. I bet less than 12 hours. George had more faith in you, said 48."

"You are insufferable."

"Well it's not like we bet a Knut," said George. "We _did_ bet a Galleon, I mean, that's –"

I gave the latter a hard nudge in the ribs.

"Oi! Why am I the one getting hit, he's the only that thought you wouldn't last 12 hours!"

"Because you deserve it! You can't just make a bet like that and think you'll get away with it! And besides, I can complain about schoolwork all I want. Right, George?"

There was a short silence as George stared at me, then at his brother, then at me again.

"Of course, gorgeous."

"What!" cried out Fred.

Smiling triumphantly, I threw my arms around George and kissed him quickly on the cheek.

"Well now I lost my appetite," muttered Fred.

I chuckled and waved to Lee and Alicia who had just arrived from Care of Magical Creatures and were sitting down. Lee was smiling broadly – well, more than usual.

"Did you hear about Harry and that Umbridge woman?" he said excitedly.

"No, what happened?" I frowned.

"Big fuss. Apparently she said something about You-Know-Who not really being back, and he started arguing, and soon enough they were yelling at each other."

"You're joking," said George.

"No. He was sent to McGo's and all."

I really wanted to hear more about it, but I saw Angelina entering the Great Hall.

"Have to go," I quickly said, standing up.

"Aren't you going to eat?" frowned George.

"Not that hungry," I shrugged, gathering my things.

"Sorry, _what_?"

"I'll see you later!"

"But Adds, the testing –"

"I'll be there! Later!"

I quickly left the table to meet Angelina before she got to it. She glanced at me oddly.

"Are you all right?"

"Spectacular. Why don't we take a walk?"

"But I was going to -"

"Never mind that. Let's go."

"But Addy –"

"Just follow me."

I must have been smiling in a way that intrigued her enough, because she let me grab her hand and lead her away from the Great Hall.

"What are you planning?" she asked, as we walked in the empty corridors.

"I told you, just follow me."

But Angelina was smart, and she soon figured out where we were heading. As soon as the famous fruit bowl painting came into view, she started shaking her head.

"Why are we going to the kitchens?"

"Will you ever stop asking questions?" I chuckled.

I tickled the pear and the portrait moved to let us in. Immediately, a few House Elves came into view, smiling brightly at us. Leading them was Eddy, an House Elf I had known for basically all my time at Hogwarts – the one who had baked me a strawberry shortcake during OWLs.

"Miss Harlowe, you're here! Everything is ready, as you asked."

"Thank you, Eddy."

I glanced at Angelina; she looked a little overwhelmed, and very intrigued, but she was smiling, and that was already a victory for me. Eddy led us to the small room adjoining the kitchens. I had been there a couple of times with the twins; they had organized a few of my birthday parties there. We came in to find a large table, filled with food, and there was even music playing.

"Surprise!" I said, turning to see Angelina's face.

"Bloody hell!"

Angelina never swore, so I couldn't help but giggle.

"Did you do all this? That's all my favorite food!" she said, glancing at the plates.

"Oh, I didn't. The Elves cooked it all. But I gave them the idea."

"That's so nice of you…"

"I thought you could use a little cheering up."

She shook her head, as if she could not believe it, and then jumped into my arms. I hugged her back tightly.

"Thank you, Adds."

"I'm here for you, Angie."

When we separated, I could see that her eyes were glistening with tears. But I didn't want this moment to be about tears; so I quickly asked her to sit down and start eating. We spent most of the evening there, eating and laughing, talking about Quidditch and music and about our last year at Hogwarts; everything but boys. When we finally left the kitchens, after thanking profusely the Elves, I felt lighthearted – and very, very full.

"I think you might have to roll me up all the way to the Common Room," I said.

"You and me both," chuckled Angelina.

When we got to the Common Room, everything was very quiet. I felt my heart skip a beat as I glanced at my watch. Bugger! It was much later than I thought it was; I hadn't watched the time while I was with Angelina. I had probably missed all of Fred and George's testing. I searched for them in the room, and finally found a familiar face – but only George was there. Fred was nowhere to be seen.

"I'm going to bed, Adds. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yeah, okay. See you tomorrow."

"Thanks again. For everything."

I smiled at her, and quickly hugged her before she went up. I then bit my lip; George was probably really disappointed at me. I approached him, sitting down beside him on the couch.

"Hey."

He didn't even glance at me.

"I'm sorry I missed everything. I didn't see the time –"

"Where were you?"

"I was with Angelina. I had prepared something to cheer her up – I really thought it would only last until after dinner, but I… I lost track of time. I'm really sorry."

He didn't answer anything as his eyes kept staring at the fire. I really did feel bad – I knew how important all of this was to him. But so was Angelina to me. I already felt like this would become complicated if Angelina and Fred didn't make up soon – or at least explain themselves to each other. But telling George that now was probably a bad idea.

"How did it go?" I asked quietly.

"Brilliantly. The Fancies all worked perfectly on everyone."

"That's gre –"

"Until Hermione got fed up and told us to stop. She said if we didn't, she'd write to Mom."

"What?!"

"Yeah."

That was why he looked so appalled; I grabbed his hand and squeezed it.

"She's not gonna do it."

"How d'you know?"

"Because… I'll talk to her. Change her mind. She might listen to me."

George glanced at our joined hands.

"That might be worth a shot."

"I'll talk to her tomorrow."

There was a short silence.

"Sorry I'm in such a bad mood."

"Don't apologize. It's my fault, I promised I'd be there, and –"

"It's okay. It's not like you missed it on purpose. Or like you were out gallivanting with another bloke – you weren't doing that, were you?"

I couldn't help but chuckle at his narrowed eyes.

"You know what we should do?" I said.

"What?"

"Find you another place where you can do the testing. The Common Room is too public. You should do it somewhere more quiet, more private. That way it won't be right under her nose."

"You're right. But where?"

"I don't know," I shrugged. "The Room of Requirement?"

"I thought that was a myth."

"Yeah, you're right. Look, I don't know _where_. But we'll find a place, don't worry."

He smiled – that smile again. And I couldn't help but kiss him.

* * *

The next day, everyone arrived at the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom unusually early. It was to be our first lesson with Umbridge, or the pink woman as Lee called her. It was true that she had made quite an impression at the Feast, and from what we had heard, her lessons were quite something as well.

We had the class with the Slytherins; but everyone seemed to be spread around the classroom, sharing theories and rumors – true or not – about the newcomer. Someone had started spreading the rumor that there were more than a dozen kittens living in her office – we were debating whether that was true when she finally appeared. Without any surprise, she was dressed all in pink – but sported a dress and a cardigan rather than a jacket and a skirt. She smiled at us from the balcony. The class quickly quieted down.

"Everyone in their seats, please."

As she went down the stairs, we all obliged quietly. I glanced at George, beside me, but he seemed bewildered by her.

"Good morning, children" she said as she got the front desk.

I arched an eyebrow. _Children?_ The room remained silent.

"Well, well. Seems like many of you are still sleepy. Let's try that again – 'Good morning, Professor Umbridge'."

It took a few seconds for all of us to process what she was asking. Eventually, we all mumbled a good morning – nobody said it at the same time and not in a very convincing way, but it seemed to please her.

"Well, we shall work on that, won't we?"

"How old does she think we are?" I heard Alicia whisper behind me.

"Now, please put away your wands, and take out your quills, ink and books."

As we all did that, she turned to the small blackboard and tapped it gently. A few words appeared on it : "Defense Against the Dark Arts : A Return to Basic Principles". We all exchanged glances. That didn't look good – that didn't look good at all.

"From what I have heard from Professor Dumbledore, your teaching in this subject has been rather weak. Of course, you are not to blame. Many of your previous teachers did not follow the Ministry-approved curriculum, and some did not follow any curriculum at all."

Something that sounded like a squeak escaped her mouth – it took me a few seconds to realize it was a giggle.

"Now, it bewilders me how you were able to pass the O.W.L. exams with such success having in your pocket such faltering teaching, but…"

I frowned – had she insulted us?

"… I can assure you that you do not have to worry for your N.E.W.T. examinations this year. You will be following a solid, Ministry-approved curriculum that will ensure that you will posess all the right tools to successfully pass the examinations at the end of this year. Now, if you will all take our your quills, I would like you to copy this down."

She tapped the blackboard again. The previous words faded and new ones appeared – 'Course aims'. I read them and couldn't believe what I was reading. They didn't make any sense! I started writing them down, when a voice broke the heavy silence.

"Excuse me, Professor?"

We all turned to the source of the voice – it was Angelina.

"Yes, miss…?"

"Johnson. From what I understand, this course will be theory-based, won't it?"

"You are quite right, miss Johnson. The ministry believes that a theory-based program is the best way to prepare you for your final year examinations."

"I understand, but how? The N.E.W.T.s, like the O.W.L.s, require a practical use of defensive magic, don't they? And this class is supposed to be of an advanced level, so I am quite confused as to why we are 'returning to basic principles'…."

"Miss Johnson. It is the belief of the Ministry that a theoretical understanding of defensive magic will be more than enough to get you through your examinations. If you have more questions about the curriculum of this class, I welcome you to come and see me after the lesson, but let's not waste anyone's time."

I glanced at Angelina – she blushed a little, clearly embarrassed, but I was furious. That wasn't wasting our time!

"Now if all of you could go back to copying. When you are done, I invite you to open your books and read chapter one."

A quiet chatter started in the classroom, and I turned to George to ask him what he thought, but Umbridge quickly spoke again.

"In silence, please."

I glared at her, exchanging a look with George. He looked just as overwhelmed and outraged as I was. We all started reading the first chapter of the book – and I was soon bored out of my mind. Those notions would maybe have been useful – if we were _first years._ I sighed as I tried to concentrate, but the book seemed to have been written for children by children. And it's not like we could do anything else – Umbridge walked between the desks, checking to make sure we were reading.

As soon as she passed our desk, George took out his quill and drew a little heart in my book. I gave him a nudge in the ribs, shaking my head.

"How old _are_ you?" I whispered.

"Didn't you hear? We're _children_."

I chuckled – his impression of Umbridge was already perfect.

"For a second, I thought –"

"Mr. Weasley, Miss Harlowe, quiet please."

I immediately stopped talking and shot an alarmed look at the front of the class. Umbridge had sat down at her desk and was staring right at us. _How did she know our names_? I didn't remember her glancing at a class list – I mean, knowing George's name was easy, but mine? It was just creepy.

I nodded quickly, muttering a 'sorry', before glancing back at my book, and at the little heart on the corner of the page.

I sighed loudly when the bell finally rang. We ran out of the classroom, concerned to get out as quick as possible.

"That was awful! People weren't joking when they said she was boring!" cried out Alicia.

"At some point, I seriously considered popping a Nosebleed Nougat," said Lee. "But then I remembered that there is no antidote, so I would just bleed out."

"Wouldn't death be better than this?" I muttered.

"You're probably right…"

"And how she talked to you, Angie! What a horrible woman!" I added.

"Yeah, you were saying what we all thought, and –"

I stared at Fred as he stopped mid-sentence, realizing that he was talking to Angelina. There was a moment where I could see the panic in his face, and then he shut down completely. As for Angelina, she was as red as a tomato, and stared at the floor like she was seeing it for the first time. I squeezed George's hand – and he quickly cleared his throat.

"Well, we've got a free period, so –"

"Yeah, we have to run to Runes, Ali."

"I'll be at the library" muttered Angelina before turning on her heels and walking away in the opposite direction.

I bit my lip as I watched her walk away – I really wanted to catch up with her, but I didn't want to be late for Ancient Runes.

"That was bloody awkward, mate" said Lee at Fred. "You've got to do something."

"Piss off. I'll see you later."

And without another word, it was Fred's turn to walk away with determination. Lee let out a long sigh.

"That's why I don't date."

Alicia scuffed at him.

"Sure, Lee, keep telling yourself that. Let's go, Addy."

"Yeah. I'll see you later."

I stole George a quick kiss before following Alicia to Ancient Runes, which was on the sixth floor. Fortunately, Runes was one of my favorite classes, and my mind soon drifted away from Fred and Angelina, and from that horrible Umbridge. Babbling gave us two rolls of parchment to write for the next week, but at that point I was too hungry to really care.

In the afternoon, we all had a Transfiguration lesson with McGonagall – she gave us her N.E.W.T. speech, which lasted nearly all period. She had invited people that were interested to talk about their 'future' to go and see her in her office. Fred, of course, acted all smart – 'Oh, bugger, I'm in the wrong class! I thought that was Transfiguration, not Divination!' – but he shut up when McGonagall threatened him with two week's detention with her. Alone.

After dinner, which we took early since we all had a free period, I was sitting with Angelina and Alicia in the Common Room, getting started on my Muggle Studies homework. Angelina was busy reading – but she kept sighing loudly, glancing at the twins and Lee who were trying to find a suitable room for their testing.

"Have we got any homework for Umbridge?" I asked, trying to get her attention.

"Re-read chapter one," replied Alicia.

"You must be joking."

But Alicia only shrugged.

"That's what she said."

"I can't wrap my head around how awful she was. And what she told you, Angie! I totally get why Harry got cross with her yesterday."

"What? What happened?" said Angelina, finally turning to us.

"Apparently, they got into this huge fight about You-Know-Who."

"Rubbish!"

"I'm telling you. Got sent to McGonagall's, got a week's detention."

"Wait, what?"

Angelina's smile had instantly faded.

"What?"

"Did you say a _week's_ detention?"

"Yeah, why d'you – oh."

 _The Keeper Tryouts._ They were this Friday – so if Harry was in detention, he would miss then. And Angelina had specifically said she wanted to whole team to be there. Angelina looked as if she was going to scream – she slammed her book close and stood up.

"Angie, where're you going? Angie?"

But she was already out of the Common Room – on her way to find Harry, no doubt. The poor lad. I sighed loudly. It was only the second day of the year but it felt like we had came back forever ago. Between all the homework, and the issue of Fred and Angelina, and Umbridge, and all that had happened since we had got off the train – and on the train – I was already in over my head. And I had the feeling it was far from over. It was never quiet in Hogwarts, after all, was it?

* * *

On Thursday night, I decided to take a night off homework – the twins had finished the antidote for the Nosebleed Nougats and they wanted to test it. So, after dinner, we grabbed a few snacks and locked ourselves up in the small room we had found for the testings, on the second floor. The twins took out the material and we sat comfortably on the floor – it was supposed to be George's turn to test, but I decided otherwise.

"Let me try it," I said, extending a hand.

George seemed to hesitate.

"You sure?"

"Yeah! You two have been doing enough testing. Besides, I want to try it."

He exchanged a look with his brother – Fred only shrugged.

"If she wants to do it – you won't hear me complain. Those nosebleeds give me headaches."

Fred placed the small candy in my hand. I was excited, but also quite nervous. I completely trusted Fred and George – they wouldn't give me anything that could harm me, but I could still feel my heart beat a little faster.

"All right, Adds," said George, handing me a large towel. "You're going to need this – it can get messy."

"It is going to hurt ?" I asked.

"It shouldn't," he smiled.

I nodded, took the red candy in my hand, and after taking a deep breath, ate the candy. It tasted like raspberries and quickly melted on my tongue. For a second, I couldn't feel anything, and almost wondered if it was working – until a drop of blood fell on my hand. I instinctively lifted it to touch my nose – when I looked at my fingers, they were covered in blood.

" _Bloody hell,_ " I exclaimed.

"Indeed it is," grinned Fred.

I wanted to roll my eyes, but instead threw my head back to try and slow it down, holding the towel under my chin. But it was no use – I was bleeding like a broken faucet. Soon, the towel was soaked.

"All right. Now, take this, Adds…"

George handed me the white candy – I quickly swallowed it. The twins stared at me, their eyes fixed on my nose. A few seconds later, the flow stopped – I could feel the blood beginning to dry on my lips, chin and hands. I breathed out, staring at the white towel – it was now a dark shade of red.

"Blimey," I muttered.

"How're you feeling ?" asked Fred, eyes narrowed.

"Perfectly fine, actually," I answered.

It was true – I wasn't dizzy, or feeling, or anything of the sort. I felt as if the whole thing had never happened.

"Well, it works."

"And perfectly well, too. Only takes a few seconds for the nosebleed to stop."

The two of them starting muttering to each other – I couldn't even understand what they were saying.

"Er, boys ?"

"What ?" they said, turning their heads to me.

"What do I do with this ?" I asked, pointing the blood-soaked towel.

"Right. Here, give it."

I handed it to Fred – he muttered a spell, and a second later, the towel was as good as new. Before I could say anything – seriously, how many times had that towel been used? – George stood up and offered me his hand.

"C'mon, let's get you cleaned up."

I took his hand, making sure that it wasn't with the one that was red with blood, and followed him outside the room. On the way to the bathroom, we met Katie, who was with some of her friends. Her eyes widened at my sight.

"Merlin's beard! What happened to you – oh, you know what ? I'm not going to ask any questions," she sighed, looking a little amused.

I exchanged a look with George – we both chuckled as Katie passed us – her friends shot us weird looks, but I couldn't care less. Once we were in the closest bathroom, which was fortunately empty, George took a fresh towel and dampened it in the sink – as he did that, I saw my reflection in the mirror. Half of my face was covered in blood – that was kind of scary.

"I look like I've had a rough day," I said with a smile.

George turned to me, towel in hand, as I gave myself a swing to sit on the counter.

"I think you look tough. And… kind of sexy."

I raised an eyebrow as he started to clean the blood off my face.

"Sexy ? Blood all over my face, that is sexy to you ?"

"Hey, what's wrong with that ?"

I shook my head, laughing.

"You've gone mad."

"I have. And it's your fault."

"Oh, it's my fault ?"

"Yeah. You're making me mad. Mad about you."

I smiled softly, feeling my heart leap in my chest. I pulled him closer, my hands on his back, and kissed him.

"I'm mad about you too," I whispered to him, his lips inches away from mine.

He kissed me again, for the longest time – we were breathless when he pulled away. _Yeah,_ I thought. _Barking mad._


	44. vol II : chapter fourteen

Hello! I hope everyone is doing well!  
Thank you for the great feedback on the last chapter! There are so many of you putting this story in their alerts, it makes me really happy!  
If you have time, please let me know what you think!  
I hope you like this chapter! It's a little shorter, but it introduces a few new subplots.  
Enjoy xx

* * *

 **wildest dreams  
** VOLUME II

* * *

 **CHAPTER FOURTEEN**

* * *

"Congratulations, Ron!"

I shoved a Butterbeer into his hand, smiling brightly. He looked as if he still hadn't fully recovered from Angelina's announcement, but was smiling nevertheless. After the Tryouts, we had all gathered in the Common Room to celebrate the nomination of the new Gryffindor Keeper.

I hadn't known Ron was trying out until I had seen him holding his broom like it was his own life on the Pitch earlier that day – and neither had Fred and George, because they had both looked like they had been hit in the face by a Bludger. Ron had been proven to be brilliant – well, better than the others anyway, in my opinion – and Angelina gladly welcomed him into the team. Weasleys and Quidditch, right?

After congratulating Ron, I looked around the room – I first saw Angelina, who was sipping a Butterbeer while talking animately to Melinda. For the first time since we started the term, she actually looked relaxed. Smiling, I looked for the twins with the idea to join them but when I spotted them across the room, they weren't alone.

A tall girl from our year was standing next to Fred, George and Lee – Cassandra Burton. George said something and she started laughing loudly, pushing her long, black hair behind her shoulder. I stared at her for a few seconds, and at the twins who looked so happy to be her center of attention. Where did she come from? Of all our years at Hogwarts, of all the classes we had had together, I had never seen her be so friendly with them. She usually hung out with her own friends, a group of girls from Potions Club, and never really talked to anyone else. Why the sudden interest?

She laughed again, even louder this time, her perfect white teeth almost glistening in the dim-light room. I glared at her as I took a seat on one of the couches, observing them from a distance. Why was George smiling so proudly? Sure, she was pretty, but – she had just put a hand on his arm, still laughing like a broken record. I grabbed the bowl of almonds that was sitting on the table next to me and started chewing one. What was she saying that was so interesting? What was –

Someone sat down on the couch next to me – it was Hermione. She looked horribly pale and had dark circles under her eyes.

"Are you all right, Hermione?"

She glanced at me like she hadn't even noticed I had been there.

"Oh – yeah. I'm fine."

"You don't look fine."

"I am, I'm just tired."

"Already studying for the O.W.L.s?"

She shook her head, sipping on the Butterbeer in her hand.

"No, I'm just – I've been knitting. A lot. The hats and socks I've been making are disappearing like mad."

"Really?"

"Yeah. So I have to make some more…"

"Maybe you should take a night off. You look exhausted."

"Perhaps you're right" she smiled feebly.

She closed her eyes and laid her head backwards – and didn't move anymore. I stared at her for a few seconds, but decided to let her sleep. She probably needed it. Suddenly I remembered about Cassandra – and looked back at where they had been standing, but she was gone. I stood up and walked to them.

"Having fun, boys?"

All three stared at me.

"You certainly looked like you were."

"What on earth are you talking about?" asked Fred.

"Didn't I just see you talking with miss-flipping my hair back and –"

"Who?"

"Nevermind."

The music had been too loud for him to hear me – and that was probably a good thing. I didn't want him to think I was jealous. After all, it's not like he couldn't _talk_ with other girls, he certainly could, even more if it helped business. It just felt shifty to me that she was suddenly so interested in them after seven years.

Lee arrived at that moment with Butterbeers, and quickly the topic changed to how apparently, he wanted to 'score a date' with a Hufflepuff he had a crush on. He then insisted we played a game that involved way too much drinking – being a bit tired, I only watched the boys play. Soon they were juggling bottles in their hands, dancing around, making complete fools of themselves.

It was nearly one in the morning when we all decided to go to bed – fortunately, the next day was a Saturday, and I was able to wake up much later than usual.

At two the next day, the twins, Angelina and Alicia set out for the Quidditch Pitch for their first practice of the year – I decided to stay at the castle to get some work done, as I was already buried underneath readings and essays. They weren't supposed to get back until much later, but it wasn't even 2:45 when Angelina and Alicia entered the Common Room with grim faces.

"How was practice?" I asked hesitantly.

"It was a complete disaster," sighed Angelina.

"It wasn't _that_ bad, it was just…"

Alicia seemed to hesitate.

"All right. It _was_ a disaster."

"What happened?"

"Well, first, there were a few Slytherins there, the _gits_ , making comments and thinking they were real funny – and Ron was having kind of a hard time, you know, but who can blame him with them around – and then Ron threw the Quaffle and hit Katie in the face and she started bleeding, so Fred and George gave them one of their candies, but her nosebleed wouldn't stop and they realized they had given her the wrong one, so then we just decided to stop the practice" said Alicia in one breath.

There was a short silence as I processed everything she had said.

"Wow," was all I could answer.

"We'll never win the Cup this year," moaned Angelina.

I closed my book, staring right at her.

"Don't say that. It was your _first_ practice. You'll have plenty more before the first match. And you could write to McGonagall, ask her to stop giving access to Slytherins during practices."

"Yeah, maybe I'll try that."

The twins entered the Common Room a few minutes later.

"How's Katie?" immediately asked Alicia.

"She'll be fine. Pomfrey gave her something, she'll have to stay the night but she'll be fine."

"What did you give her?" I asked.

"I thought I'd given her the antidote for the Nougats, but I gave her a Blood Blisterpod instead – they're the same color, you see" explained Fred.

"Why do you even carry those in your pocket?" suddenly asked Angelina.

"They're for the –"

"You know what? I don't even care. Let's just hope next time you won't be stupid enough to your teammate something that might have very well killed her."

Angelina then gathered her books and ran upstairs, looking every bit furious.

"I'm really starting to think Wood's spirit has taken ahold of her," said Fred.

"Don't be a git. She's right, it _was_ kind of stupid of you."

"Not you too!"

"Will you ever –"

"Shut up, you two!" sighed Alicia. "I've had more than enough shouting for today!"

I sighed. Alicia didn't get annoyed easily – one of the qualities I most appreciated about her – so I decided to stop.

"You're right. I'll go talk to her."

"I'll come with you," she said.

We both grabbed our stuff and went upstairs. Angelina was sitting on her bed, reading a book. When she was us, she raised the book so that it was in front of her face. I exchanged a look with Alicia, and we both sat down on her bed.

"Angie, just because you're hiding behind your book doesn't mean we can't see you."

A few seconds passed before she finally put down the book.

"What?" she asked with a pout.

"We're worried about you," said Alicia.

"You really shouldn't."

Her voice was cold and abrupt – but I knew her better than that.

"We know it's because of Fr-"

"Please don't say that imbecile's name."

"Angie, he's a git, we all know that. But you shouldn't beat yourself up over this…"

"I'm not!" she sighed. "I just want him to apologize for being so rude and inconsiderate."

"He still hasn't explained himself?" said Alicia.

"No."

I bit my lip. I had asked George to talk to Fred – but perhaps even that hadn't worked.

"Is there something we can do?" I asked pitily.

"If you don't mind ending up in Azkaban, there's always murder."

She had said it completely seriously – but something in her tone made me chuckle, and soon the three of us were laughing our arses off.

On Monday, we woke up to the news that Umbridge had been appointed High Inquisitator of the school. I had no idea what that meant, but I had the feeling we would soon discover – and, indeed she was sitting at the back of the class when we arrived at Charms.

"What is she doing here," I groaned under my breath.

She soon explained that a part of her new job was to do an inspection of all the teachers at Hogwarts, and that was why she was there. She would 'simply be watching the class'. I couldn't help but notice that Flitwick didn't seem overly enthusiastic at the idea. He started his class a little awkwardly, telling us that we would be practicing the spell we had learned about last week – a variant of the vanishing spell.

We all started practicing in usual silence – Umbridge walked along the desks, taking notes. I was so focused on watching her that I hadn't noticed that both Fred and George had succeeded in making their feathers disappear – the latter had to give me a small shove.

Umbridge's voice suddenly rose.

"Miss Spinnet, is it?"

We all looked at Alicia, who looked quite surprised, and also quite worried. I couldn't blame her.

"Yes," she replied hesitantly.

"'Yes, madam the High Inquisitator'" corrected Umbridge.

Fred, George and Lee snickered next to me.

"Yes, madam the High Inquisitator," repeated Alicia.

"This is your last year at Hogwarts, I believe, miss Spinnet?"

"Yes," answered Alicia.

I bit my lip to keep from laughing as I saw Umbridge's face at the lack of 'madam the High Inquisitator' – but the twins couldn't refrain it, as George laughed loudly. He quickly tried to hide it under a cough, but Umbridge was already looking at him.

"Do you have something to say, Mr. Weasley?"

"No, ma'am."

There was a short silence. I decided to step in to save him.

"George, I think you meant, 'no, madam the High Inquisitator."

This time, nearly all the students in the class started laughing – they all tried to do it quietly, without much success. Umbridge's face turned a pink that nearly matched her dress, and pecked her lips.

"Ten points off Gryffindor, miss Harlowe, for your impertinence."

"I was only trying to –"

"Another word, and it will be detention. Now all you go back to work."

I was surprised she hadn't actually given me detention – but perhaps she was in a good mood. She walked away after that, and went to ask questions to a Ravenclaw who seemed more afraid of her than anything. Then again, I couldn't blame her.

Umbridge hadn't showed up in any other of my classes – but soon it was Tuesday, and time to go to Defense Against the Dark Arts. None of us wanted to go. The previous week, she had asked us to read chapter two and copy down a passage _four_ times. I had never been so bored in my entire life – and I had once listened to Percy talk about his cauldrons for two whole hours – I had been distracting him for Fred and George to set a prank in his room.

"Please tell me I don't have to go. Please" moaned George when Alicia said it was time to leave.

"You have to come. You can't leave me alone there, I _will_ die of boredom," I replied.

I pulled on his hand, forcing him to stand up and follow me. We all walked slowly to the classroom – we always arrived at the very last possible minute, so that we didn't have to spend uneecessary time there. Umbridge was already sitting at the front desk when we sat down. At exactly one, she rose and started giving her class.

"You know what we should do?" I whispered to George.

"What?"

"Knit her a new pink cardigan and spray that thing for boils all over it."

We both started chuckling, maybe a little too loud – and of course, Umbridge had to notice it.

"Miss Harlowe, mister Weasley, is there something you would like to add on the matter of Nonverbal Spells?"

"No, Professor – I mean, madam the High Inquisitator," said George.

There were a few chuckles around the room.

"It is not the first I have warned you two. I believe it would be preferable if you switched seats."

"But –"

"Why don't you go sit over there, miss Harlowe? And mister Miller, next to Mr. Weasley."

I stared in horror at Umbridge. If I was to take Brian Miller's seat, that meant I was going to have to sit next to –

Graham Montague flashed me a smile. A horrible, disgusting arrogant smile.

"Quickly now," hurried Umbridge.

Feeling as if I was going to throw up, I gathered my things and walked to my new seat – Miller didn't seem particularly happy about going to seat next to George either. Mixing Gryffindors and Slytherins was _never_ a good idea. What was she thinking?

I sat down at the new desk and quickly put as much space as possible between me and Montague, who was still smiling like a bloody idiot.

"How interesting. Looks like fate brought us together once more, _Harlowe"_ he sneered quietly.

I ignored him, and look straight ahead of me for the whole remaining of the class. As soon as the bell rang, I ran outside like I was running for my life, and didn't stop until I was in the Common Room. Once I was there, I threw my things on the nearest couch and collapsed on it. _That bloody ugly, evil tw-_

"Addy?"

I looked up to see Angelina, Alicia, Fred, George and Lee staring at me.

"You all right, Adds?" asked Lee.

" _No, I'm not all right, Lee._ "

"Wrong question, mate," said Fred, shaking his head.

I stood up – I couldn't stand still, I felt the anger rise in my throat, and I just couldn't hold it in.

"Who does she think she _bloody_ is? Making me seat next to that rat-faced _pillock!_ "

"Pillock?" repeated Alicia.

"I'm gonna be stuck with him for the _whole year._ For the _whole bloody blithering year!_ How in Merlin's name am I ever going to put up with that prat?"

"Addy –"

"And he was sitting there, looking all smug and proud! I swear, I would have broken his bloody nose right there and now!"

"Adds –"

"If you ever hear there's been a murder at Hogwarts, don't ask yourself who did –"

"ADDY!"

"WHAT?!"

I stared back at Angelina, who looked a little exasperated.

"There's a letter for you."

"What? From who?"

"Your uncle."

I grabbed the small envelope, sitting back down on the couch.

"Thank Merlin that's over. I thought my ears were gonna start bleeding" I heard Fred mutter behind me.

"Sod _off,_ Fred, or you'll be bleeding soon enough," I yelped.

Luckily he didn't say anything else, and probably walked away as I didn't hear him anymore. George sat next to me as I opened the envelope. I was grateful he didn't say anything. I could still feel my blood boiling – but yelling had calmed me down. I unfolded the parchment and started reading.

 _Dear Addy,_

 _Sorry I couldn't write to you before. We've just gotten back from Ireland, with our new album all set and done. It's quite good – I'll send you a copy when I get the final product. So, how's it going at Hogwarts? How are your classes? I hope you're not giving yourself too much pressure and that you haven't killed yourself trying out for the Quidditch team…_

George, who had been reading over my shoulder, sneered. I gave him a shove.

 _Anyway, please give me some news. Everything is fine over here, as usual. We did hear about that new Defense teacher – Dolores Umbridge, if I recall? She looks a bit shifty if you ask me, but I might be wrong. Anyway, I'm writing to you because we just heard some big news; Don is getting married! He proposed to Clara a few days ago, and she said yes. The wedding will be held soon – September 22_ _nd_ _, to be exact, and of course, you're invited. It's going to be in a place called Corsia, a small island next to France, and it's supposed to be beautiful and warm (so bring light clothes). The invitation's for two, so if you want to bring your ginger half, he's more than welcome. Please confirm me that you can come, and I'll write to Dumbledore._

 _I hope to see you on September 22_ _nd_ _!_

 _Myron_

"Bloody hell!" I exclaimed when I was done reading.

I looked at George, who looked at me.

"Are we – are we –"

"Going to _France_?"

We stared at each other for a few seconds.

" _We're going to France_!" I shouted before jumping out in his arms.

We laughed, and started doing a little dance. Fred glared at us.

"One second she's shouting, then she's dancing. I'm telling you, mad as a hatter."

"Why are you two so happy?" asked Alicia, smiling.

"We're going to France!" we replied in unison.

"Where!?" asked Lee, frowning.

"Why are you going there for?" said Fred, arching an eyebrow.

"Don, the bassist of my uncle's band, he's getting married!"

"In France?"

"Yes!"

"And he wants you to go?"

"Yes!"

"Why?"

"Who cares! _We're going to France –_ "

"Yes, I think we all got that bit right."

I stared back at Fred, biting my lip.

"I wish you could come too, Fred. I wish I could invite all of you, but the invitation's only for two."

"That's fine. The only thing I like about weddings is the food. And there's plenty of that here."

"When is it?" asked Angelina.

"At the end of the month."

"You think Dumbledore's going to let you go?"

"Myron said he'll write to him. I guess we'll see. Oh, I hope he says yes!"

I hugged George again, delighted at the idea to not only see my uncle and the band again – but also at the idea of spending some time alone with George. I slid my arms across his waist, pulling him close.

"Our first trip together," I smiled.

"Well, I'm not sure I'll go –"

"What?" I muttered.

But he smiled, and I knew he was joking – so I kissed him, forgetting about Umbridge and Montague and everything that had made my day miserable, and only focused on how happy I felt at that instant. How that felt good.


	45. vol II : chapter fifteen

_Hi everyone!  
I would like to apologize for the lack of updates these past weeks. Midterms had taken over my life... Glad that's over.  
Anyway, here's a new chapter, which is, to compensate for my absence, a little longer than usual! It's part 1 of 2 of George and Addy's trip to France.  
I hope you'll enjoy it. Thank you for all the support. Don't forget to review :)  
Marianne xx_

* * *

 **wildest dreams  
** VOLUME II

* * *

 **CHAPTER FIFTEEN**

* * *

The announcement of Don's wedding was in the Daily Prophet the next morning. Of course, the article was filled with false information – notably that Myron would be there with his girlfriend, but I knew very well that they had broke up back in June. There was also a list of notable guests – neither I or George were mentioned, at his great despair.

We didn't receive any news until the next Wednesday – I was leaving Muggle Studies class when a first year told me Dumbledore wanted to talk to me and George in his office. I set out to look for George, who was either in the Common Room or in the small room on the second floor where he and Fred did their testing – since he wasn't in the first one, I walked to the second floor and opened the door.

Inside I found George, who was puking his guts out in a bucket. I immediately ran to him.

"Bloody hell! Fred, we have to take him to the infirmary, he –"

"He's fine."

"What?"

I looked at Fred, who was watching George with a small smile. He then showed me what was in his hand - a Puking Pastile wrap. I let out an annoyed sigh as George kept throwing up next to us.

"Well, congratulations, you got me."

"Don't look at me like that – no, actually, keep doing it. I like this look on you. It's very 'I'm going to strangle you in your sleep'."

"Funny. Will you give him the antidote now? I need to talk to him."

He handed George the other part of the candy, who quickly swallowed it. He straightened up, looking pale and sweaty – but at least he wasn't puking anymore.

"I don't think she'll want to snog you in a while, mate."

"Not until you've brushed your teeth, that's for sure."

"Give me another," said George weakly.

"You sure?" frowned Fred.

"Just do it!"

Fred quickly handed him another antidote – as soon as he took it, the colors on George's face returned and he smiled brightly.

"Much better. We have to double the recipe both ways," he said as Fred nodded. "How was your morning, gorgeous?"

"It was all right," I answered hesitantly. "I thought the Pastiles were done. You've been selling them."

"Yes, but we got a few comments that the puking wasn't convincing enough. So we decided to give them a little more… intensity," explained Fred.

"Well, you better eat a mint or something, George. Dumbledore wants to see us."

"What for?"

"Probably about the wedding."

"Right. Just give me a minute, I'll run to the bathroom and I'll be ready."

When he was gone, Fred smiled at me, handing me a Puking Pastile.

"Want to try it?"

"Maybe some other time, in an alternate universe. I've seen enough vomit for today."

"Speaking of vomit, how is our dear friend Montague? You haven't told us how your new partnership with him is going."

" _Ugh_ ," I sighed. "I try to forget he's there. If I deny his existence, maybe he'll actually disappear."

"Nope, doesn't work. I've tried that several times on Percy."

I couldn't help but smile.

"Anyway, I think he really wants to impress Umbridge, or at least, stay in her good graces, so he hasn't tried anything funny. Yet."

"Constant vigilance. Lovely."

George re-entered the room.

"You ready, Adds?"

"Yeah, let's go. See you later, Fred."

"Yeah, yeah."

I followed George outside, and we walked to Dumbledore's office hand in hand. I muttered the password the first year had given me, and when we reached the top of the stairs, the door to the office was already opened. We heard Dumbledore's voice from inside the room.

"Miss Harlowe, mister Weasley, please come in."

We entered the vast office – Dumbledore was sitting at his desk. We approached it quietly.

"Ah, good afternoon to you two. How are you doing on this splendid day?"

I arched an eyebrow as I glanced outside – it was raining.

"We're doing great, Professor. What about you?" asked George.

"Good, very good. You see, I have recently acquired a box of these new candy from Honeydukes…"

He showed us a bright yellow box that read 'Happy Sweets'.

"'Sweets that make you happy', as it says," continued Dumbledore. "Well I don't know what they put in that, but it certainly works. Please, take one."

We both grabbed one from the box – it was a small, yellow candy with a smiley face on it. I took it and instantly felt better. I exchanged a glance with George.

"Clever, isn't it? But it's true you are already familiar with this kind of magic."

I looked at George who was smirking. Dumbledore always knew everything.

"Now, I believe your uncle must have told you he would be contacting me about this wedding at the end of the month?"

"He did, Professor," I answered.

"Well, I must tell you I am myself quite thrilled about this wedding, it's been a long time since I've been to one, and your uncle had the kindness to invite me. Perhaps I will drop by."

"That would be great, Professor! I'm sure Don would really appreciate it!" I said, smiling. "But… what about us leaving Hogwarts?"

"Yes, yes, of course. Well it is not in my habits to permit students to leave Hogwarts in the course of a semester, but I will do an exception for you and Mr. Weasley. You will leave the castle with Mr. Filch, who will accompany you to the gates. There, you will meet your uncle."

We nodded, unable to stop smiling. I didn't know if it was the candy, or something else – but I really did feel happy.

"Mr. Filch will be in the hall on the 22nd at eight. Don't be late. And enjoy your time in France."

"Thank you, Professor," said George.

"Now, as the French say, _au revoir."_

"Er – yes. Thank you again."

The days leading to the wedding went by quickly, and soon, it was time for me and George to prepare. I had gone to Hogsmeade with Alicia and Angelina to get a dress, and the night before, I packed a few things in my bag. We would only stay two nights, after all.

"I'm so jealous," said Alicia.

"Me too," nodded Angelina. "I heard France is beautiful, and much warmer than here."

"Only by a few degrees," I smiled.

"But you're going to a wedding! There's going to music, and dancing, and delicious food, and famous people…"

"That doesn't sound any different from a party in the Common Room when Harry's there," I joked.

"You know what I mean," said Alicia. " _And_ you're going to be alone with George."

To that I smirked – that was certainly going to be different.

"Are you going to share a room?" asked Angelina. "Like… just the two of you?"

" _Oooooooh,_ " said Alicia with a smile.

I stared back at her, feeling my cheeks burn.

"Piss off," I muttered, closing my bag, eager to change the subject. "Well, I'll see you on Sunday. Don't do anything stupid – wait until I'm back for that."

We all hugged tightly, and I walked downstairs to meet George in the Common Room. He was already there, his bag next to him.

"Where's Fred?" I asked him. "And Lee?"

"They're testing the Nougat on the first years."

"I thought they would wait for you."

He shrugged.

"That's all right. They can manage. Now, you're ready?"

"Are you?"

"Absolutely," he grinned.

Grabbing his bag and then taking my hand, we walked out of the Common Room and headed for the Hall. The castle was strangely quiet for a Friday Night. We soon reached the Hall, where Filch was already waiting for us, stroking Mrs Norris' ears.

"There you are" he grunted. "Now let's go going, I don't have all night…"

We were more than used to Filch's grumpiness, so we followed him without another word. It was beautiful outside – the sun had not yet set, but the sky was a beautiful mix of pink, purple and blue. It wasn't particularly cold, either, so we didn't even have to put on our jackets. We walked behind Filch and Mrs Norris, hand in hand, and when I glanced at George I saw that he was smiling quietly, too.

I immediately spotted Myron who was waiting on the other side of the gates, but had to wait for Filch to open them before I jumped in his arms. I hadn't seen him since July.

"I'm so happy to see you!"

"Me too, Pancakes. You look radiant."

I chuckled – Myron had a certain talent for compliments. That was probably why he was rarely without a girlfriend – he only had trouble keeping them.

"It's very nice to see you again, Mr Wagtail," said George.

"Oh, please, call me Myron. Likewise, George, likewise."

They shook hands, and I watched as Filch stood not too far, looking at my uncle with his eyes slightly more wide than usual. I was in such a good mood that I thought of introducing them, but when I opened my mouth Filch had beaten me to it.

"Well isn't all of this touching. Hurry along, will ya, I've got more important things to do…"

Me and George stepped outside the gates, and Filch closed them before turning on his heels and walking away, mumbling nonsense.

"Charming as ever, I see," said Myron, arching an eyebrow. "Now, we should get going before it gets too late, I want to show you around the hotel before we head to bed. Because you will need your beauty rest, Pancakes. It's going to be a party."

I grinned, feeling more excited by the second.

"Let's go!"

"Ready, George?"

"When I am not?"

Myron grinned, and extended his hand. We both took it and Disapparated.

* * *

When the world stopped spinning, we were standing in what seemed to be another world – it was much warmer, and the air smelled salty. I turned around and there was the ocean – vast, with the sunset reflecting in it. It was magnificent.

"Bloody hell," I muttered.

"Wicked," said George next to me, and I squeezed his hand.

We stayed there for a few minutes, admiring the sunset and enjoying the warm breeze in our hair. I felt so far away from England, and from reality, I had a hard time believing it was real.

"That's our hotel," said Myron, pointing the big, white building next to us."You have the room 809, on the eight floor."

He handed George what looked like a small card – he took it hesitantly, turning it upside down.

"It's a Muggle hotel, you need that to enter the room," explained Myron.

"That explains it," smiled George.

"Now I thought we might explore the area a little, since we won't have much time tomorrow. There are a few spots I'd like to show you."

"That sounds perfect," I said.

"Great. I'll let you get changed, jeans and sweaters aren't any good for the weather here. Let's meet back here in thirty minutes, all right?"

I nodded, and Myron walked away, leaving us alone. We exchanged a smile, and then entered the hotel. The lobby was huge, and all made of white marble – it must have cost Don a fortune to get all of us to stay there.

" _Bonsoir, comment puis-je vous aider?_ "

We both turned to the woman at the desk who had addressed us. I looked at her with wide eyes – I didn't speak French except for a few words. I looked at George, hoping he could help – but he looked as panicked as I was. So I only showed the woman our card, and she smiled, nodding.

"Your room is on the eight floor," she said with a small French accent. "You can take the elevator straight there. Do you need help with your luggage?"

"No, thank you," I smiled.

We walked to where she had been pointing – the 'elevators', she had called.

"Do you know how those things work?" I asked George quietly.

"Dad told me about them once. But… I've no idea."

"Stairs?"

"Stairs."

Chuckling, we headed for the door that read 'Stairs' and made our way up to the eight floor. I was breathless when we got there, but we were more than used to climbing stairs – they were everywhere at Hogwarts. Walking to class was sometimes a workout by itself.

We finally arrived in front of room 809 – George pushed the handle, but the door didn't budge.

"It's locked!"

He pulled out his wand from his pocket, but I stopped him.

"What are you doing? We can't do magic outside school!"

"But we're of age," he said.

"I know but –"

I was interrupted by the sound of a door opening – it was the room next to ours. An old woman came out, shooting us an ugly look.

"There are Muggles everywhere," I muttered. "And I think we have to use that."

I showed him the card.

"Right" he chuckled, putting away his wand. "But how?"

"Er…"

I placed the card in front of the handle – maybe it had to read it? As it didn't work, I tried to turn it upside down.

"Let me try," said George.

He grabbed the card and tried to slide it between the wall and the door – without success. We were just about to give up when we heard a high-pitched voice next to us.

"You have to slide it in the handle, you idiots!"

It was the old woman – clearly, she had been observing us this whole time. She had an American accent. I blushed a little, and George did as she said. Then the red light on the handle turned green, and he was able to push the door open.

"Thank you, ma'am" I said, smiling shyly.

"Brits."

She walked away, mumbling to herself. I watched her, slightly amused. George was laughing loudly next to me.

"Aunt Muriel's American doppelgänger," he said, still laughing.

I burst out laughing, and we entered the room, closing the door behind us. My breath caught in my throat – the room was huge! Besides the large bed near the window, there was a small kitchen and a big closet. I walked to see the bathroom – there was a shower _and_ a bath, which I was sure could contain at least ten people.

"Bloody hell, this is huge!" I grinned.

"Meh, could've been better," shrugged George.

I shoved him, laughing, and then we both looked at the bed. Grinning, we ran and jumped on it together. The duvet was soft and we soon engaged in a pillow fight. It was only a few minutes later that we laid down on the bed, breathless.

"I can't believe we're here" I said. "Just yesterday we were trying to survive one of Umbridge's lesson –"

"I seriously considered jumping out the window then," nodded George.

"And now we're here. It's like… paradise."

"And we're together."

"And we're together."

He put himself up on his elbow, and bent down to kiss me. I gave in the kiss in a way I rarely did – there was usually people around, watching, or Fred making sly comments. But now, it was only the two of us, and I could finally enjoy kissing him fully, passionately, and let him know how much I loved him. I smiled as our lips danced together. Loved him – that sounded so good.

His hand had travelled from my cheek to my neck, and my two hands were tangled in his hair, and it felt so good to be right there, at that instant, and savor it wholly. After a moment we were out of breath, and our lips detached, but our eyes were locked.

"I really, really, really like you," I said softly.

"I like you more," he replied, kissing me again.

I suddenly remembered that my uncle was waiting for us, and reluctantly detached my lips from his.

"We have to get ready."

He grunted as I stood up, pulling on his arm.

"C'mon, you lazy arse!" I shouted.

"What did you call me? What did you call me!"

He jumped on his feet, narrowing his eyes at me.

"I called you a lazy arse, 'cause that's what you are."

"Oi!"

He started to chase me around the room, and I ran around, laughing hysterically, until he finally caught me and locked me in his arms.

"That's not very nice," he said softly.

"Haven't you noticed? I'm never nice."

He smirked, and kissed me again. I leaned against him, savoring the taste of his lips, the feeling of me and him, alone, together – until I remembered my uncle was _still_ waiting for us.

"We'll never get ready in time if you keep kissing me like that," I said.

"Are you complaining?"

"Did it sound like I was?"

"Not really, just checking."

I gave him a slight nudge on the shoulder before walking to my bag. I had brought a few of my lighter clothes as Myron had warned me about the weather – the south of France was really much warmer than Scotland. I took out a dress that I had bought this summer, and went to change in the bathroom. I took a few seconds to brush my hair, making sure I looked nice – just for George, of course.

When I opened the door of the bathroom, George was taking off his shirt. I stopped dead where I was – my eyes glued on him. I had seen him without a shirt a few times, because of Quidditch – but right now was a different setting. One, he wasn't drenched in sweat. Two, we were alone. He caught me watching him - and smirked, like the idiot he was.

"See something you like?"

I made a face at him.

"Stop showing off."

"I'm not showing off, I'm simply seizing the opportunity to show you my dreamy body."

"Well, you and your dreamy body should hurry up, because we're already late."

I pulled my tongue at him, like a child, and looked away. I put my jeans and sweat back in my bag, feeling my cheeks burn. _All these years playing Quidditch really paid off,_ I thought. Merlin's Beard, if only the girls could hear me…

"I like that dress. I haven't seen it before."

I turned around and he was right behind me – he was now wearing a light t-shirt, thank Merlin – or else I might have fainted. I smiled, ruffling his hair.

"I bought it in Peru. And it's not like I have many occasions to wear it in that awful Scottish weather."

"Fair point."

We were already five minutes late to meet my uncle, so George quickly grabbed the key and put it in his pocket and we went downstairs.

* * *

When we got outside, Myron was waiting for us with Kirley, Heathcote and Herman – I hugged them all, and we started to walk alongside the beach, exchanging the most recent news. Heathcote told me about a time in recording session where Orsino had been so caught up in one song that he had broken one of his drums, and me and George told them all about Umbridge. Herman remembered going to school with her – she had been awful even then, according to him, treating anyone who was a Slytherin or a pure-blood like slime.

"And what about you, mate? What's your thing?" asked Kirley to George.

A proud smile spread on his face.

"Still at Hogwarts for now. But me and my brother have a business."

"What kind of business?" asked Herman.

"We want to open a joke shop. We already have a variety of products, we've been selling them at Hogwarts and over mail."

"Oh, yeah, I think I saw that in the Daily Prophet," said Kirley, smiling.

"You have?"

George sounded so excited – I couldn't help but feel the same.

"They're doing great," I said. "Already a huge success."

"It will be even better when we have our shop. Hopefully, we'll open next September – so keep an eye out for Weasley's Wizard Wheezes."

Kirley, Heathcote and Herman were really interested in the business, and they kept asking questions to George, about their products, if they had found a place, things like that. George talked about it with such passion, his eyes bright and his smile wide – he really was made for this, I thought. I let go of George's hand to join my uncle who was a bit up ahead, and grabbing his arm, started walking next to him. We were quiet for a while, until he brought up something I had completely forgotten about.

"Have they written back to you?"

I looked at him, confused – but I soon understood who he meant. I felt my smile fade.

"No. I don't think they will."

"I'm sorry, Pancakes," he sighed. "I really wish they weren't such gits."

"It's all right," I muttered.

But then I remembered their faces, and how they had closed the door on me, and how they had told me 'good luck at school'. And I remembered what Sirius had said about family, but it didn't excuse anything my parents had done – or not done, in that case. So I cleared my throat, gripping my uncle's arm a little tighter.

"Well, no, it's not all right. I'm mad at them. I'm starting to think it was better when I didn't know anything about them. When they were just…. shadows. Ghosts. Now that they are actual people, it just hurts more."

I breathed in. It felt good to say that aloud.

"But what can I do? I can't force them to want to care about me."

"I'm sure they do, in their own, odd way. But your mum was always like that, you know."

"She was?"

Myron never talked about his family – well, our family. He had never been really close to them. He had left them as soon as he was of age – they had never understood the wizarding world way of living, or wanted to.

"When we were children, she kept bugging our parents to get a dog. She kept talking about it, for years. So, one day, our parents finally got her one. She took good care of it, for a while. But one day she just stopped. She didn't want to walk him, or spend time with him. She was too busy, she said. The dog became really sick at some point, and my parents decided to bring him to the doctor, thinking she wouldn't care."

"Did she?" I asked feebly.

"She cried for two weeks straight."

I stared back at my uncle.

"But I'm not a _dog_ , uncle Myron. I'm a person, and –"

"I know," he smiled. "But what I mean is, just because a person makes it seem like they don't care, doesn't necessarily mean they don't."

I was quiet for a while, thinking about what Myron had said. If my parents really cared about me, they indeed had a weird way of showing it. But for me, there was no good excuse. I wasn't asking them for much – just for them to answer my letters. If _that_ was too hard…

"Sorry, Pancakes," said Myron. "Didn't mean to ruin the mood."

"S'all right. I'm glad we can talk about this," I said.

"Now get back to that boyfriend of yours, or I think they might eat him alive."

Chuckling, I walked back to George, grabbing his hand, squeezing it. He was explaining how Puking Pastiles worked to Kirley, Herman and Heathcote – but squeezed my hand back. And somehow that was everything.


	46. vol II : chapter sixteen

_Here it is, part 2 of the wedding in France!  
_ _A lot happens in this chapter, please tell me what you think!  
Enjoy xx_

* * *

 **wildest dreams**  
VOLUME II

* * *

 **CHAPTER SIXTEEN**

* * *

"So, the wedding's at three but the reception starts at one, so you have to be there before that, let's say around noon. You have everything you need?"

We nodded, and Myron, Kirley, Heathcote and Herman walked into the hotel, leaving us outside.

"Guess what?" George said, as we sat down on a bench facing the water.

"What?"

It was dark, but it wasn't cold – the breeze was warm, and made our hair dance. I settled my head on his shoulder, playing with his fingers.

"Heathcote told me, if we wanted someone to play at the opening of the shop, they could do it."

I gasped, looking up at him.

"That's brilliant!"

"I know, right?" grinned George. "I can't believe it. It's going to be huge."

I stole him a quick kiss, feeling ecstatic for him. I couldn't wait myself for the opening of the shop – there was still a long way to go, but the journey was just as great as the destination. We stayed on the bench for a while, and we started getting really sleepy, decided to go upstairs.

We entered the lobby, which was very quiet, and as we were about to go up the stairs, saw a small family get inside one of those machines – the _elevators_. I grinned, glancing at George.

"Want to try it?" I asked him.

"You read my mind, gorgeous."

We placed ourselves in front of the golden doors. There was only one button – so George pressed it, and we waited, giggling like children. After a minute or so, the doors finally opened. We entered the small cubicle, looking around in fascination.

"They've got them at the Ministry. You'll have to get used to them," said George.

I glanced at the panel – there were several numbers from 00 to 16, which I could guess were floor numbers. I pressed the '8' button and the doors closed shortly after.

The cubicle shifted – I squeezed George's hand harder, holding back a scream. He started laughing when he saw my face.

"They are not very sa – ah!"

The machine had stopped, and I felt as if my heart was burst out my chest.

"Bloody Merlin, let's get out of here," I muttered.

We stepped out of the elevator, whose doors closed behind us. George was still laughing at me.

"Stop laughing!"

But now that I was out of the elevator, I felt much better and started smiling myself – we got into our room and took off our shoes. Then we stared at each other in silence.

"What do we do now?" I said awkwardly.

"I guess we go to bed. We have to rest for tomorrow."

"Right, of course."

I ignored his smile and went to grab my pajamas from my bag. I then headed for the bathroom – his voice stopped me.

"Where are you going?"

"The bathroom," I said, frowning.

"Why?" he asked, sitting on the bed.

"To play Quidditch," I replied sarcastically.

"Why don't you get changed here?"

I felt the blood drain out of my face.

"Why would I do that?"

"C'mon. You're not a prude, are you?"

"George!"

He only smiled. I bit my lip, considering the situation. But I couldn't help a small smile to spread on my face.

"Fine. But you better not say anything funny, or the show's over. And I expect you to get changed as well –"

I hadn't even finished my sentence that he quickly took off his shirt and trousers – and sat back on the bed, only wearing his underwear.

"I – I – all right," I blabbered.

I was nervous I was almost shaking – I knew I had no real reason to be nervous – I knew George better than anyone else, and I knew he wouldn't do anything mean. But he had never seen me in my underwear – _bloody hell_ , nobody had ever seen me in my underwear – except the girls in my dorm, but that was nothing, nothing like this.

I unzipped the side of my dress, letting it slide on the floor. I instantly covered myself, but George was already up and walking towards me. He took my hands, untangling my arms, and looked at me straight in the eyes.

"You're beautiful."

And so I kissed him, because there was nothing else in the world that mattered more than me and him at that moment.

* * *

"Morning."

I smiled sleepily, looking at his face, half-buried in the sheets. The light of the sun pierced through the curtains, shedding its light on the room to create a golden hue. I felt his foot brush mine, and I wrapped my leg around his. I could have stayed like that forever, half asleep, the softness of the sheets against my skin, sharing smiles and quiet words with him, but soon we heard a few knocks on the door.

"Have we overslept?" I asked.

"I don't think so."

He turned to glance at his watch.

"It's only half past ten."

"Who could it be, then?"

"I'll go."

I watched him get up, grab a t-shirt and walk to the door. I closed my eyes as I heard him open the door and exchange a few words with whoever it was – and soon the door closed again.

"Adds, look at that."

I straightened up, rubbing my eyes, and looked at what he was pointing. It was some kind of small trolley, covered by a white tablecloth – and on it, food. Lots of food.

"Bloody hell" I muttered, my voice rusty from sleep. "Where did that come from?"

"No idea. He just said that he was there to deliver breakfast."

I looked at the trolley from the bed, in awe of all the delicious food. I gasped.

"Are those _pancakes_?"

George chuckled, and brought the trolley over so that we could eat in bed. We slowly ate breakfast, exchanging thoughts about the wedding and thinking about the others, still at Hogwarts, wondering what they were doing.

"I am going to be awfully behind homework," I muttered.

"Don't think about that" said George, shaking his head.

"I can't help it. I've got two rolls of parchment to do for –"

"Adds."

He had put his hand on my thigh, raising his eyebrows at me.

"Stop."

I sighed, putting my hand on his.

"You're right. Sorry."

I slid my fingers between his, and bent down to settle my head on his chest. I smiled softly to myself as his other hand went into my hair.

"I could get used to his, y'know."

"What?" he said, and I felt his breath on my neck.

"This. You, me, this place… nothing to worry about, no… homework, no evil pink woman."

"It'll be like that one day."

"You think?"

"I know it'll be. I mean, it won't be _this_ place exactly. But we'll have somewhere. Somewhere that belongs to us."

I didn't dare look up at him, my eyes fixed on our intertwined hands. Did he really mean it? That one day, life would be like this? That we would have our own little place?

"I've been thinking about that more and more" he said quietly.

"What?"

"Life. After Hogwarts."

This time, I looked up at him – but he was deadly serious, like he only very rarely was.

"You have?" I asked him faintly.

"Yeah. I mean, it's coming fast."

"I guess it is."

It was, and I knew it even though I rarely thought about it – it just seemed to me like Hogwarts would last forever. But George was right – the end was coming fast. Perhaps I needed to think more about it. It reminded me of what Fred had told Ron at the beginning of the term – about how they had thought of not going back to Hogwarts.

I wanted to ask him about it, instead of avoiding it like I had done the past weeks, and what he had been thinking about exactly, what he had decided, maybe – but then the alarm clock on the nightstand table started to ring. We had set it for 11:30, to give us enough time to get ready before noon. I groaned, slightly unhappy at the idea of having to get out of bed, but I was too excited for the reception and ceremony to be too grumpy, so I jumped out of bed and started getting ready.

George was ready in 15 minutes, but I was still in the hair and makeup process. He sat on the bed, watching my every move.

"I dunno about this," I sighed as I looked in the mirror after finishing my hair. "D'you reckon I should wear it up? Or maybe straighten it?"

"Are you seriously asking me?"

"Yes!"

"I think it looks great."

"What looks great?"

"This – the hair you already have."

I squinted my eyes at him.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I am. You look great, Adds, you always do."

I sighed, looking once again into the mirror and at my curly, dark blonde hair. _This will have to do._ I turned to George – he was opening the drawers of the nightstand.

"I just have to put on the dress and I'll be ready."

"All right."

I grabbed the dress from my bag and ran into the bathroom as George grabbed a book from inside the drawer and started reading it. Closing the door behind me, I laid down the dress on the counter – Angelina had cast a Unwrinkling spell on it. Taking off my pajamas, I slid on the dress – it was a pale pink knee-length dress, with lace on the collar. It was very simple but I liked it that way – it wasn't _my_ wedding, after all. After smoothing it and fixing the last bits and bobs, I got out of the bathroom. George was still ready that book, looking a little confused.

"You ready?" I asked, putting on my shoes.

"Yeah, in a minute."

I approached the bed, amused at his state.

"What're you reading?"

He looked up at me – his expression immediately changed.

"Rubbish, really," he said, throwing the book behind his shoulder and standing up. "Wow, Adds, you look incredible."

I smiled, blushing slightly – I really couldn't get used to him complimenting me. He did in a way that _always_ made me feel special, like the only thing in the world that really mattered – how could one get used to that?

He slid his hands around my waist, kissing me softly, lovingly.

"It would be even better if that dress was white," he whispered in my ear.

I glared at him.

"George."

"I'm only joking."

He kissed me again.

"Or am I?"

I gave him a nudge, and we both started chuckling, even thought my heart was beating a little fast.

"Let's go. We don't want to be late," I said.

I grabbed his hand, and we made our way down to the reception, laughing, our hearts beating as one.

* * *

When I woke up the next morning – or should I say, afternoon –, I felt as if I had been trampled by a hippogriff – or maybe twelve. Groaning, I reached for the alarm clock to see what time it was – it was a quarter past noon. Pushing my dishelved hair away from my face, I took look at George who was lying down next to me – he was still deep asleep, his mouth slightly opened, and his left cheek was all black, like something had exploded in front of his face. Frowning, I reached it to see what it was, but as soon as my finger touched his face George woke up in a jolt.

"Huh? What?"

"Sorry" I said with a raspy voice. "You've got dirt on your face."

He looked at me as if I had gone mad – but then he rubbed his cheek, and looked at his finger – his lips stretched into a smile, and he started chuckling.

"Fireworks," he simply said when he saw my confused expression.

I stared at him for a few seconds, until it all came back to me – yes, George had tried to set up fireworks the night before, but had stumbled on something and it exploded in his face. I snorted, pushing my head into the pillow. What a night it had been. I honestly couldn't remember all of it – but I remembered enough.

We stayed in bed for a while, reminiscing the previous night. Neither of us wanted to get up – firstly because it would mean going back to Hogwarts, but mostly because we felt exhausted, sick and generally awful. But at some point we had to get dressed and pack, because Flich was expecting us at the gates at exactly 2pm.

I lazily put on a pair of jeans and a Weird Sisters t-shirt and we went downstairs to grab a bite before leaving, walking hand in hand. I quietly observed George as we ate – he was still the same George as before. The same tall, ginger, crazy, hilarious George – but it was like he was a whole new person. I had never known him as well as I did at that moment, and he never knew me as well – we were so in sync, so completely _together._ It was an incredible feeling – a feeling I didn't want to go away. I hoped it wouldn't.

A hour later I hugged my uncle goodbye – I suspected he was still half-asleep, as he was wearing his largest sunglasses – and soon we were walking through the park. It was a beautiful day – sunny, warm – so almost everyone was outside, enjoying the weather.

We were near the Pitch when we saw Angelina, Fred, Alicia, Ron and Harry coming out of the changing room – it looked like practice had just finished. We hurried up to catch up with them, smiling, our hands intertwined, still in that sort of hazy, dream-like state, where nothing could possibly reach us.

It was a harsh return to reality.

"I DON'T CARE ABOUT YOUR BLOODY STUPID BUSINESS, FRED, IF IT'S MORE IMPORTANT THAN QUIDDITCH THAN –"

"THAN WHAT? THAN, WHAT, ANGELINA? YOU'RE GOING TO THROW ME OUT?"

"I MIGHT VERY WELL DO THAT IF YOU KEEP BEHAVING LIKE THIS!"

"WELL, FINE!"

"FINE!"

We stared at Angelina as she stormed away, stomping her feet – Alicia quickly followed her. Fred stood there, fists clenched. I exchanged a look with George, and we approached him. I didn't really know what to say – and nudged George in the ribs, so that he would. He cleared his throat.

"You all right, mate?"

Fred turned to us in surprise – his angered features instantly softened, and his lips broke into a smile.

"You're back!"

"What the _bloody hell_ was that, Fred?"

He only shrugged. I saw Ron and Harry walk away quietly.

"How was the wedding?"

"It was great, but Fred – seriously, what was that? What happened?"

His shoulders lowered – me and George sat down at the table to join him.

"We were at practice, and – y'know, Katie couldn't be there because she had something with Flitwick, and you weren't there either" he said, gesturing to George, "so I told Angelina that it was no use having practice, with two players missing. She made a fuss, says I don't care about the team anymore because of the business."

"What?" exclaimed George.

I stayed silent – I didn't want to take sides.

"I know! She's been on my back all weekend. Anyway, you guys have to tell me everything. How was France? How was the food?"

I knew there was no use trying to change the subject – when Fred didn't want to talk about something, he just didn't. So we told him everything about our weekend as we walked back to the Common Room – well, almost everything.

I was eager to talk to Angelina and Alicia, so when we got to the Common Room, I quickly hugged Lee and asked him where they were – in our dormitory. I ran upstairs to find them sitting on Angelina's bed – she was crying, surrounded by used tissues, and Alicia was stroking her back.

"Addy!" exclaimed Alicia.

"Hey, Addy," said Angelina with a small smile.

I dropped my bag and hurried to her, hugging her tightly.

"Oh, Angie! I'm so sorry! Do you want me to go and kick Fred's arse right now?"

"How do you know this is about him?"

"I saw what happened – we had just arrived, and we wanted to say hello, and…"

"Oh, bugger," she cried out. "Everyone must have heard that, I feel like such an idiot!"

"We've been over this, Angie," said Alicia. "You're not an idiot."

"Absolutely not."

"I don't know why I keep overreacting like this! Usually, I can keep a cool head with that kind of thing – but when it's him, I just – I just – I can't help it!"

She broke into tears – I held her close, as Alicia kept stroking her back. I kept my reflexion to myself – it was clear to me that Angelina kept reacting like that to everything Fred did because she still liked him – of course she did. She probably never stopped liking him. I sighed – this had to stop. I would make it my mission.

We stayed in the dormitory until dinner, trying to lift Angelina's spirits – I told her about the wedding, and about the fireworks that had exploded in George's face – she laughed at that, but I could see that she was still sad. She was very quiet when we entered the Great Hall and sat down at our usual places. My eyes fell on the pink spot at the staff table – I groaned.

"I'd nearly forgotten about her. Nearly."

Lee chuckled.

"She was furious when she learned about you going away for the weekend."

"She was?" said George.

"Oh, yeah. Pam heard her throwing a fit in McGo's office. Apparently, you had 'no right to leave the castle without the High Inquisitator's authorization'."

I snickered at Lee's impression of Umbridge.

"But Dumbledore gave us authorization," George said, shaking his head.

"That's what McGo told her" said Alicia. "But she was mad, I tell you. I'd remain quiet for the next few days if I was you. She's going to be watching you like a hawk."

"Merlin" I muttered.

I turned to the staff table – and froze when I realized that Umbridge was looking right at me. I quickly looked away, shoving George who was laughing. Alicia was smirking, but her expression suddenly changed – I frowned, and wanted to ask her what was going on, but I soon had my answer.

"Hey, Alicia."

I glanced behind my shoulder to see Ethan there, smiling widely. Smirking, I turned to Alicia who seemed a little uncomfortable.

"Hey, Ethan," she mumbled.

He slightly blushed, and quickly walked away. Fred and George burst out laughing. I shook my head.

"Oh, stop it," I told them.

"What is _up_ with him?" groaned Alicia. "He doesn't talk to me for seven years, and now he hasn't stopped saying hello every time we see each other."

I shrugged, remembering my promise to Ethan.

"Maybe he's changed. He's not a bad bloke, y'know."

"You sure he's not a cold-blooded killer who wants to lurk her in the woods?" snickered Fred.

I ignored him.

"He probably just wants to be nice. Maybe he fancies you."

Alicia made a face, as Angelina suddenly stood up and walked away from the table. All our laughter died down, as we looked at her go.

"Ugh," I groaned. "This has got to stop! Fred, you have to talk to her!"

"What? Why me?!"

"Because _you_ 're the one that's been causing all of this!"

"It's not my fault she's so –"

"Shut it! I'm asking you to start snogging her again, just talk to her! At least so you two are on agreeable terms, so that you at least be in the same room. This has gotten out of hand."

"She's right, mate," nodded Lee.

There was a short silence as Fred all looked at us. After a while, he sighed loudly, stood up and walked away as well. This time, we stayed silent. George glanced at me, squeezing my hand, in a way that seemed to tell me 'I will talk to him'.

I tried to finish my plate, but I just didn't feel hungry anymore – so I told the others I was heading to bed, tired from the journey home. I squeezed George's hand before heading out of the Great Hall, wanting nothing else than going into bed.

But of course it couldn't be that easy – and just as I was passing through the Entrance Hall I met Graham Montague.

"Oh, hello, Harlowe. Back from your little holiday?"

I just wanted to ignore him, but then noticed something about the Quidditch uniform he was wearing – I felt my heart skip a beat. He snickered at my expression.

"Are you – have you –"

"That's right, Harlowe. _I'm_ the new Slytherin captain."

"How is that even _possible_?"

"Flint wanted me to have the spot."

I couldn't hold back a chuckle. Marcus Flint – _not_ the cleverest wizard in Hogwarts.

"Ah. That explains it" I sneered.

He didn't seem to like that – his arrogant smile faded and he took a step towards me, trying to look threatening – trying.

"Laugh all you want, _Mudblood._ We'll see who laughs when Slytherin crushes your pathetic team in November."

"You'd like that, wouldn't you?" I smiled. "I can't wait to see you try."

I knew that it was a waste of time to stay – so I simply turned on my heels and disappeared in the Grand Staircase. I couldn't wait to be in bed.

* * *

When I woke up the next morning Angelina and Alicia were talking quietly on the latter's bed. I joined them, rubbing my eyes.

"Morning."

"Morning, Adds" said Alicia with a smile.

"How are you feeling?" I asked Angelina.

"I was just telling Ali that me and Fred had a talk last night."

My eyes widened.

"You did?! What happened?"

She smiled.

"I couldn't sleep, and so I went down to the Common Room to get some air, y'know – and he was sitting there by the fire. I was going to go back to bed, I didn't want to talk to him – but then, he asked me to stay. That he wanted to tell me a few things."

"Did he tell you why he broke up with you?"

"He did. But it's between him and me, y'know. He asked me not to talk about it."

"That's all right, Angie."

"He said that he was sorry about the way he acted, that he was an idiot. He said that he never wanted to hurt me, not really."

Angelina's eyes were glistening with tears – I squeezed her hand.

"So?" asked Alicia.

"So that's it. We talked for a long time. But we agreed that we didn't want things to be awkward, for either of us or for any of you, and that we would try to be friends again."

"And is that what you want?" I asked her gently.

She shrugged.

"I don't know. But it's still better than fighting all the time. I think – I think it's for the best, y'know? For you, for him, and for me."

I smiled.

"As long as you're happy, Angie."

The three of us hugged, as the early rays of sunshine started to fill the room.


	47. vol II : chapter seventeen

Hello all!  
I would like to dedicate this chapter to the lovely _Resa_ who wrote me the most adorable review ever. Thank you again.  
I would also like to thank my dedicated reviewers (you know who you are) for being there at every chapter - and to all of you out there who are reading this. I love you all dearly and I wish I could bake you all cookies (even though they would be disgusting because I'm really bad at cooking).  
I don't really like this chapter, it's sort of a weird-filler, but there are a few cool things happening. Let me know what you think!  
Enjoy! Marianne x

* * *

 **wildest dreams  
** VOLUME II

* * *

 **CHAPTER SEVENTEEN**

* * *

The first Saturday of October was to be the first visit to Hogsmeade of the year – the first official one, anyway. The twins had some errands to run at Zonko and other shops for their products – I had planned to go to the Three Broomsticks with Angelina and Alicia, but our plans changed on Friday afternoon – as me, Fred and George had a free period, we were going to work on the mail orders when we crossed paths with Hermione.

"Hey. Do you three have a minute?" she asked us.

The twins narrowed their eyes at her.

"Is this about our –"

"No, it's not. It's about something else."

She hesitated, glancing around her as if to see if we were alone – the hallway was empty except for a group of sixth-years who were laughing loudly a few meters away – they weren't paying any attention to us.

"What is it, Hermione?" I asked her, frowning – her attitude was making me curious.

"We had an idea, with Harry and Ron. You know that Umbridge is never going to teach us any useful defensive or offensive spells –"

George snickered.

"She's never going to teach us _anything._ "

"Well we thought that Harry could – give us lessons, I mean."

"In defensive magic?" I asked, my eyes widening.

Hermione nodded, a little smirk on her lips.

"But Umbridge will be furious!" I exclaimed.

"That's why we have to keep this quiet. She can't know. Nobody except us can know."

"'Us'?" repeated Fred.

"I invited a few people. Tomorrow, at ten, at the Hog's Head. We'll have a meeting, discuss the whole thing. Can I count on you three?"

"Absolutely" answered Fred and George simultaneously.

"Of course, Hermione, we'll be there," I smiled.

She smiled back, looking sincerely glad.

"You can invite more people, too. But not too much – and only trustworthy people."

We nodded.

"Alright. I'll see you tomorrow."

She walked away, and the three of us immediately ran upstairs to the Common Room to tell the others – they were all very excited at the idea. Harry teaching us magic – that sounded absolutely incredible. I couldn't wait for the next day – fortunately, it came quickly.

It was a beautiful day – despite the coldness in the air, there was barely any wind and the sun shone high in the blue sky. We walked slowly to Hogsmeade – all us of talking and laughing. Even though Angelina and Fred weren't on the best of terms, they could at least now talk to one another without shouting or running off. There were things only time could heal, and we had to let it heal them.

The twins insisted to go to Zonko before we headed to the meeting – and I decided to follow them, anxious that they might forget about it if I didn't remind them. The girls and Lee headed off to Honeydukes to help the latter buy his 'monthly snacks'.

Zonko was quite empty at that time of day – it was barely 9:30. We passed the front door, and there was nobody in the shop except for a sleepy cashier. Fred, George and Lee crammed as much stuff as they could in their arms and then proceeded to pay for it all. As the cashier put everything in bags, another employee appeared from the back of the store – I let out a small groan.

"It's Ben! Look, Addy, it's Ben!" said Fred, giving me a nudge on the shoulder.

"Hey Ben," I muttered half-heartedly.

"Hello, Addy!" the young man replied with enthusiasm – too much enthusiasm, if you asked me.

The twins were snickering behind their scarves – they had always found Ben's fondness of me very entertaining. Ben had been working at Zonko since our fourth year – and since we went there often, he had gotten to know us, and had also, according to Fred, 'developed a serious case of Addy-osis'.

"What can I help you with today?" he asked, his wide eyes fixed on me.

"Nothing, we're alright – we're actually paying."

"Let me know if I can do anything!"

Fred suddenly dramatically gasped, pointing Ben's bright red Zonko uniform.

" _Merlin's Beard_! Is that an 'Employee of the Month' badge?!"

His fake amazement would have made me laugh in any other circumstance, but not in this one. I only rolled my eyes.

"It is!" exclaimed Ben. "Isn't that great?"

"It's _brilliant_ , Ben! Isn't, it George?"

"I'm really happy for you, mate," nodded George.

"Yeah! Me too!" continued Fred, looking _way_ too excited. "What about you, Adds?"

I glared at him, before smiling awkwardly.

"Of course. Cheers, Ben."

"T-t-thank you, Addy. Ooh! That reminds me – I thought about you the other day."

My eyes widened slightly – I ignored Fred and George who had to hide their laughter behind _oddly_ similar coughing.

"Did you?" I hissed between my teeth.

"Yes! We received these incredible earrings that transforms into little snakes, y'know – they all sold out so quickly, but I kept you a pair – I knew you would like them."

"That's…" I hesitated. "That's really nice of you."

"Really nice of you," repeated Fred, nodding his head.

"I have them in my bag, I'll get them for you – oh, and if you want, I can show you the back of the store, give you a tour, and –"

"OH!" I suddenly cried out loudly.

Ben stopped talking, his smile fading slightly. I let out a nervous chuckle.

"Bloody _hell_! I'm sorry, Ben, it's just – I just remembered about this meeting we have to go to… We're already late… Right, Fred? Right, George?"

"A meeting?" said George. "I can't remember any meeeeee-"

I gave him a hard nudge in the ribs, making him stop talking.

"Yes, of course," he said instead, glaring at me, rubbing his side. "Our meeting. Our very important meeting."

"Oh – alright, then," said Ben.

"We'll come back, don't worry," smirked Fred.

"Later, Ben!" I exclaimed as I grabbed the bags, pushed the twins outside, closing the shop door behind me.

I sighed loudly, walking away quickly.

"I'm _never_ going in there again," I muttered.

"You say that every time," chuckled Fred.

"Did you have to hit me so hard?" moaned George, who was still rubbing his side.

"Yes I did. 'Give me a tour of the backstore'? C'mon. You're supposed to be my boyfriend, you twit."

But _of course_ , the twins didn't listen to me – only laughed, the whole way to the Hog's Head.

* * *

We left the pub about an hour later, our heads a little heavy, but our hearts light. A secret club – we were now officially part of a secret club. It almost made me giggle every time I thought about it. There really was something exciting about breaking the rules to me, some sort of feverishness – probably one of the reasons I had become friends with the twins at the onset.

The wind had turned bitterly cold, and we all decided to head back to the castle to get some warmth. We all settled in the Common Room, near the fireplace. As most Gryffindors were still in Hogsmeade, and as Fred, George and Lee had gone to their secret room to do some paperwork for the mail orders, the room was quiet, and I was able to concentrate on homework for the better part of the afternoon. When it was almost time to go to dinner, a voice rose from the silence, and my eyes travelled from my parchment to the intruder.

It was Ethan – he, however, wasn't looking at me, but rather at Alicia who was already blushing.

"Hi, Alicia."

"Hi, Ethan."

"What are you working on?"

"Potions" she replied vaguely.

"Brilliant."

I listened to their interaction without uttering a word, not wanting to disturb them. But as Alicia looked down at her book, Ethan's eyes travelled to me. He looked incredibly nervous – and I understood what he was aiming to do. So I smiled, and shook my head feverishly in direction of my friend. _Do it,_ I told him silently. He nodded sharply, inhaled, and cleared his throat. Alicia looked up again.

"I – er – I was just wondering if I would like to go to Hogsmeade with me tomorrow. Grab a Butterbeer – or – or something."

I couldn't help but smile, and waited for Alicia's reaction. But she only stared back at him.

"What?" she said.

It was Ethan's turn to blush.

"I said – I was wondering if you would like to go to Hogsmeade with me tomorrow" he repeated with slightly more confidence.

Alicia blinked, as if unsure of what she had heard – and then looked at me. I kept smiling – and then came the blush. Her cheeks, which had already been pinker than usual, turned bright red to mirror Ethan's.

"Er –"

She looked at me again – I nodded, encouraging her.

"Er – okay. Yes, sure, why not."

Ethan's lips curled into a smile – the brightest smile I had ever seen him wear.

"Brilliant! All right. We can meet here after lunch?"

"Sure."

"Great. Brilliant. See you tomorrow, then."

"Yeah, see you tomorrow."

He walked away, almost bouncing his way to the portrait of the Fat Lady. I giggled.

"Seems like you made someone very happy," I said.

"I can't believe it. I never thought he was interested in me!" said Alicia, dumbfounded.

"Really? He had made it kind of obvious lately."

"He had? Wow. I _am_ really bad at this."

I laughed, shaking my head.

"And now I have a date. Bloody hell, Addy, I have a _date_! What am I going to wear?"

"Not this, for sure," I said, pointing her old Quidditch jumper. "I'll help you pick something."

"Thanks, Addy."

There was a short silence – my eyes had gone back to my parchment, but I really couldn't care less about Wolfsbane Potion right now.

"You want to do it now?" said Alicia after a few seconds.

"Yeah, definitely."

We picked up our things, giggling, and ran upstairs to ramage through Alicia's wardrobe. We had been so focused in the task that we nearly missed dinner.

The next day, Alicia was restless. She spent all morning reading – but her eyes barely moved and she had turned maybe two pages in the course of two hours. When it was finally time for her to get ready, I helped her curl her long hair and reassured her.

"I'm so nervous, I might throw up," she moaned as she put on her boots.

"Everything will be just _fine_ , Ali. Just be yourself. He already likes you, that's a good start."

"What if he realizes I'm horrible? What if he starts to hate me?"

She threw herself on her bed, hiding her face.

"Why am I like this? I don't even know him!"

"It's the 'date' effect. And no one could hate you, c'mon, even less him. You could throw a Butterbeer at his face, he would still like you."

None of that reassured her completely – but it calmed her down, and she seemed all right when we came down in the Common Room. Ethan was already there waiting for her. He smiled as his eyes landed on her – and they walked away, smiling shyly at one another. Sighing, I threw myself down on the couch next to George, who had been talking with Lee.

"I see Alicia's gone on her date."

"Yes" I sighed. "I kind of envy her."

George shot me a weird look.

"I mean – you know. The _first date_. It's so… exhilarating."

" _Exhilarating?_ "

"Yeah. You only have a first date once."

"Wow, great deduction, Adds," nodded Lee.

"Piss off" I chuckled.

"I remember our first date," said George, squeezing my hand.

I let out a laugh.

"Oh, me, too. How could I forget it? You nearly set the kitchens on fire."

"What can I say? I was too busy snogging you to care about those stupid candles falling on the blanket."

I chuckled, stealing him a quick kiss. Lee cleared his throat, but he had a smirk on his face.

"I think I'll leave you two lovebirds alone and make sure Fred hasn't made himself puke to death."

I watched him leave the Common Room – as soon as he was gone, I kissed George again.

"You know what I'd like right now?" he said, stroking my hair.

"What?"

"If we were back in that hotel room…"

I smiled, blushing slightly.

"Me too."

And for a moment, it almost felt like we were – the room was silent, and the fire burned brightly beside us – but soon a group of second years entered, laughing loudly.

"Want to take a walk?" suggested George.

"Yep," I nodded frenetically.

We grabbed our coats and went outside – there we walked around the park for an hour, maybe two – I didn't keep track of time. I had so much homework to do but I didn't care – I only wanted to be with George, and enjoy his company, and enjoy the frantic beat of my heart when he looked at me. The sun was setting on the horizon when we went back inside – we were walking hand in hand to the Gryffindor Tower, wondering how Alicia's date had gone, when we were interrupted.

"George! I want to talk to you."

I stared at the dark-haired girl – Cassandra Burton. What did _she_ want? I hadn't forgotten how she had flirted with Fred and George back in September. George seemed a little surprised by her words.

"Huh, okay. What's up?" he simply answered.

"Well, you see, one of my friends from Hufflepuff would like to get one of those Snackboxes of yours – but she's too shy to ask you, so she asked me to do it."

"Oh – yeah, absolutely. Well I don't carry those in my pockets –"

He was interrupted by Cassandra bursting into laughter, pushing her long hair over her shoulder. I felt my eyes narrow as I squeezed George's hand tighter.

"You're so funny!" she said, giving him a slight shove on the shoulder.

George chuckled awkwardly back, but he really did seem flattered – I held back a shove of my own – a real one.

"Right – but I can bring you one tonight in the Common Room. After dinner, maybe."

"That sounds perfect. I'll see you there. And thanks again."

"Oh, no trouble. Don't hesitate if you have more friends that want them."

"I won't."

There was a short silence, as Cassandra and George exchanged a smile. I loudly cleared my throat. George shot me a look.

"Right. I'd better get going," he said quickly.

"Me too. I'll see you tonight."

He nodded – and Cassandra's eyes travelled to me for the first time since the start of their conversation – as if she had just noticed me. I gave her my best fake smile.

"Nice to see you, Abigail."

My smile faded as she walked away, her long hair swaying behind her like a veil. _Abigail?_

"What a pretentious b-"

"Woah!" laughed George. "What's gotten into you?"

"What's gotten into _me_? What's gotten into _you_?!"

"What?"

"She was _clearly_ flirting with you, and you flirted back!"

"I didn't flirt back!"

"Yes you did!"

"Adds, she's a client – I was selling her a Snackbox."

" _Sure_ , 'cause that's all she had in mind – a _Snackbox._ "

George let out a sharp sigh.

"I didn't _flirt_ with her. Get that out of your head."

"Well she certainly was. All that bloody hair flipping –"

"Are you jealous?" he said, interrupting me, a smirk on his lips.

"Ugh, no!" I exclaimed. "It's just – didn't you see what just happened? She openly flirted with you _in front of me_. I was right there! And you – you smiled and you made that stupid joke and –"

"It wasn't even a joke!"

"It doesn't matter!"

" _Bloody hell,_ Addy!"

I stared at him, sighing. All right, maybe I was overreacting. But I hadn't liked the way she had just ignored me – and how George had seemed to forget about me, too.

"She's just – she's a _groupie_."

"What?" I muttered, confused.

"She's a groupie – a fan. She's only interested in me because of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. We've had a couple of them since the beginning of the year – she's the first one that's a first year, though."

"Wait, wait, wait – I don't get it. _Fans_?"

"Fans of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, yeah. Asking for pictures and stuff. It's really weird, but you know. I guess fame and money really are attractive to people."

"And you haven't thought of telling those _groupies_ that you have a girlfriend?"

"They're good for business, Adds. They buy so much stuff, you wouldn't believe."

I bit my lower lip. I guess I should have expected that – but I really hadn't.

"Look. They don't matter to me, they _really_ don't. You've said it, _you're_ my girlfriend. I love _you._ All right?"

I stared back at him – my heart had stopped beating.

"What did you say?"

"I said you're my –"

"No, after that."

He frowned, confused.

"You said – you said you _love_ me?"

There was a short silence, where I looked at him and he looked at me. The world had seemed to stop around us. I didn't breathe, I couldn't. Then, after what seemed to be a whole eternity, George smiled.

"Yeah. Looks like I do."

My mouth broke into a smile, letting out a small gasp. I approached him, sliding my arms around him.

"I do too."

"You do?"

"Yeah. I love you."

I guess we already knew that we loved each other, in a way. But saying it aloud make it official, made it a truth, made it a promise. So I kissed him, and I realized that he was everything to me, and that not only I loved him, but that I always would.

* * *

When we finally got to the Common Room, Alicia was there – I pulled her into our dorm with Angelina so that she could tell us everything. Her date with Ethan had gone tremendously well, she said – and they would see each other again.

"Soon, I hope," she added, smiling.

"Oh, I'm so happy for you!" said Angelina, hugging her.

It seemed like everything in the world was just right – Angelina and Alicia were happy, I was happy – and the future looked bright ahead, with Quidditch matches soon arriving and with the prospect of our Defense lessons with Harry. I had a feeling that everything could and would be _just fine_ from now then – but of course, that feeling couldn't last.

It was hard to miss the sign that had been put up on the notice board Monday morning. An announcement from the High Inquisitator, it read – that all student organizations were 'henceforth disbanded'. I stared at the sign with despair – this couldn't be a coincidence.

"How did she know?" muttered Angelina beside me. "Hermione was so careful."

"Someone must have snitched" groaned Lee.

"We were so close! I can't believe it!" I sighed.

"Oh, c'mon" said George. "We'll do it anyway. It's Harry we're talking about."

"Yeah, bloke's probably broken more school rules than us" nodded his brother.

"But what about –"

" _Oh, no. Oh, no, no, no._ "

We all turned to Angelina, who had went horribly pale.

"You all right, Angie?" asked Alicia.

"Don't you realize what this means?" she replied, staring at us. "All teams of three or more people, meeting regularly _. Teams!_ "

"Yeah, despite what you all think, I _can_ read," said Lee, confused.

"Lee! Think!"

It took us a few seconds to understand – and then I felt my face drain out of blood, too.

"The Quidditch Team!" shrieked Alicia.

"She can't do that!" exclaimed Fred and George.

"Oh, you think? You think she wouldn't do it?" laughed Angelina.

"We can't let her!" I cried out.

"You need to go see her, Angie. Sort this out," said Lee.

"I will" she nodded. "Don't worry, I will."

She looked like she was going to burst out crying. I couldn't blame her – what if Umbridge really did disband the Quidditch teams ? Worst, what if she _only_ disbanded the Gryffindor Quiddich team ? I wasn't sure my heart would take it. We had already been robbed of Quidditch last year, it couldn't happen again.

I couldn't concentrate in class all day, with the threat of the dismemberment of the Quidditch team lurking over our heads. After dinner, Angelina headed for Umbridge's office – when she came back, she didn't have any good news.

"She said she needs to think about it. Until then, no Quidditch practices."

" _What?_ "

" _Think about it_?"

"What the bloody hell does that mean?" I sighed.

"I know it sounds bad," said Angelina in a small voice. "But we can't give up. We need to show her we deserve it. So I want you all on your _best_ behavior, all right?"

I knew that Fred and George were going to say something, but I shot them both a look that prevented them from doing so. Angelina was already anxious enough. Instead, they decided to try and lighten to heavy mood that was taking over the whole Common Room and make demonstrations of their Puking Pastile – on themselves, this time, in order to prevent Hermione from stopping them.

It was hilarious and disgusting at the same time – and quickly a whole crowd started to watch them, clapping at every spurt of puke. I spotted Cassandra Burton in the crowd, laughing and flipping her bloody hair – but I only smiled at the sight of her. A groupie. It didn't matter than she fancied George – _because George loved me_. And I loved him too, I thought, as I saw him vomit in a bucket in front of a dozen people – I really did.


	48. vol II : chapter eighteen

_Hey everyone!_  
 _Thank you for all your feedback on the last chapter. I really appreciate it._  
 _This might be the last update until the end of the semester (as I will be buried under my books until then)._  
 _Sending you a lot of love! Be kind to one another!_  
 _xx_

* * *

 **wildest dreams  
** VOLUME II

* * *

 **CHAPTER EIGHTEEN**

* * *

The next morning, Fred and George appeared in the Great Hall looking particularly grumpy. They both sat down slowly on the bench, wincing.

"Are you all right?" I asked them, frowning.

"Fantastic," they replied in a voice that oozed sarcasm.

I glared at them, waiting for an explanation, but they both started eating quietly. I exchanged a confused look with the girls, but we didn't insist.

Defense Against the Dark Arts was awful, as it usually was. Montague had recently started the habit to loudly chew gum while Umbridge talked – the more I sighed or shook my head, the louder he did it. Of course, Umbridge never thought of scolding him – but scolded me at the first occasion. It was little consolation but thinking about how we were going to organize Defense lessons right under her nose helped me sit through all of it.

George was still grumpy when we sat down at History of Magic, and even though he really did seem like he didn't want to talk about it, it was starting to really itch me.

We sat at the very back of the room, and about an hour through the lesson, I couldn't resist anymore. I tore a piece of parchment out of my notes, put it on the desk between us and scribbled down an 'are you all right?'. George nodded, clearly avoiding the subject. So, I wrote down 'you don't look like you are'.

Sighing softly, he finally took my quill – because of course, he never brought his – and wrote down 'fever fudge development gone wrong'. I frowned, looking at him. He only shrugged. I insisted, writing down 'what happened?', and he simply answered 'boils'.

I was even more confused. 'You have boils?', I wrote. He nodded. I frowned even more, scribbling 'I don't see any'. He rolled his eyes, and after a second of hesitation, pointing his crotch area. I felt my eyes widen.

"Down there?" I whispered.

He slowly nodded. I had to bite the inside of my cheek to hold back from bursting into laughter. Hiding my face with my hands, I felt him giving me a nudge on the shoulder. Trying to refrain my laughter, I glanced at him – he was shaking his head.

It was hard for me to get through the rest of Binns' class – and when it finally ended, and the ghost disappeared through the classroom's wall in front of us, I couldn't hold back a chuckle.

"Yeah, laugh all you want," said George.

"I'm sorry – I am, it's just – it's very unfortunate," I said, unable to stop laughing.

"I'm in a lot of pain, you know," he added dramatically as we left the room.

"Oh, poor Georgie. I would know how to make you feel better, but due to circumstances…"

He glared at me, and I laughed even louder. We met with Fred in the secret room – when I saw him, my laughter, which had died down during the walk there, started up again. Fred's face changed instantly, and he looked at George furiously.

" _YOU TOLD HER?_ "

"Sorry," shrugged George.

"All right, all right, I'm done," I said, wiping tears from my eyes. "I'm done."

"I can't believe you told her," muttered Fred.

"Oh, get over yourself, Fred. Now, have you found a solution to your little… issue?"

I bit my lip, holding back a chuckle. Fred was glaring at me.

"No," he sighed. "I tried a few things, none of them worked."

"So, what?"

"Well I reckon we'll just have to wait until they disappear."

"How long will that take?" asked George.

"Dunno, but at least…"

They both turned to me then – me, who had tried to suppress my laughter during the whole conversation, and failed. I had put a hand over my mouth to muffle it, but it was no use. They glared at me as I started laughing again.

"I'm so sorry," I said miserably.

"All right, that's it – you're leaving."

"No, I'm going to stop laughing, I swear!"

"You're a terrible liar."

Fred finally pushed me out of the secret room. I shook my head, laughing, and headed for the Common Room to try and get some homework done. There I met Angelina, who was smiling brightly.

"Guess what," she said excitedly.

"Bloody hell, did Fred tell you?"

"No… Tell me what?"

"About his –"

I stopped, seeing the confusion on her face.

"Never mind. What happened?"

"I got it back."

"What?"

"The team. I got it back."

A second passed before I understood what she meant – the Quidditch team!

"You got it back?! YOU GOT IT BACK!"

I jumped in her arms, hugging her tightly.

"How did you do it?" I asked her as we sat down.

"I went to see McGonagall. You should have seen her face when I told her that Umbridge wanted to 'consider' it – I think she went straight to Dumbledore."

"That's brilliant, Angie! That was worthy of a Captain. Oliver would be proud."

She chuckled, and told me that they would have a practice that night – it was pouring rain, but she hoped it would clear out. The first match was in less than three weeks.

The practice didn't last for very long, and we all came back quickly in the castle, drenched to the very bone. After changing, we sat down around the fire, talked for a while, and went to bed early.

* * *

Angelina sat down at lunch the next day looking every bit excited, which was more than surprising – she had just gone to tell Ron and Harry that practice was cancelled that night, due to the weather.

"Harry told me we'll have our first Defense lesson tonight," she said quietly.

"Great!" said Alicia, smiling.

"So they found a place?" asked Lee.

"Apparently. He said to meet on the seventh floor, opposite the Barnabas the Barmy tapestry."

"Barna-who?" frowned Fred.

"You know, the knight who's being clubbed by trolls."

"Ah, yes, _that_ bloke."

"What's on the seventh floor?" I asked. "There's nothing on seventh floor."

Angelina only shrugged.

"I guess we'll find out."

And we did find out quite quickly that night – a few minutes before eight, we all left the Common Room for the seventh floor. A few people had joined us along the way, people that had been at the meeting at the Hog's head. We reached the tapestry, looking around.

"Now, what?" asked a young Hufflepuff I didn't know.

"Just wait," said Luna Lovegood mysteriously.

"Look!" said Cho Chang, pointing a wooden door that had appeared out of nowhere on the wall.

Fred frowned.

"I feel like I've been here before."

"Just open the door," said a voice, and Luna pushed it open.

What was behind the door took my breath away – it was a huge room, with dozen of bookshelves, cushions and strange objects. A few people were already there, including Harry. It was lit by torches, and looked every bit perfect for our purpose. I smiled excitedly.

"Merlin's beard," muttered Alicia behind me.

We all sat down on the cushions, and once everyone was there, Harry locked the door.

"Well," he started. "This is the place we've found for practices, and you've – er – obviously found it okay –"

"It's fantastic!" said Cho Chang.

"It's bizarre," said Fred, who was looking around confused. "We once hid from Filch in here, remember, George? But it was just a broom cupboard then…"

I frowned at him.

"Hey, Harry, what's this stuff?" asked Dean Thomas, pointing a bunch of curious-looking objects.

"Dark Detectors. Basically they all show when Dark wizards or enemies are around, but you don't want to rely on them too much, they can be fooled…"

He turned back to us.

"Well, I've been thinking about the sort of stuff we ought to do first and – er – What, Hermione?"

"I think we ought to elect a leader," she said.

"Harry's leader," replied Cho Chang.

"Yes, but I think we ought to vote on it properly. It makes it formal and it gives him authority. So – everyone who thinks Harry ought to be our leader?"

I raised my hand – as did everyone else.

"Er – right, thanks. And – _what,_ Hermione?"

"I also think we ought to have a name. It would promote a feeling of team spirit and unity, don't you think?"

I nodded – it was always a good idea to have a name.

"Can we be the Anti-Umbridge League?" said Angelina.

"I second," I said, nodding.

"Or the Ministry of Magic Are Morons Group?"

Me and Angelina both shoved Fred at the same time.

"I was thinking more of a name that didn't tell everyone what we were up to, so we can refer to it safely outside meetings."

"The Defense Association? The D.A. for short, so nobody knows what we're talking about?"

"Yeah, the D.A.'s good," said Ginny. "Only let's make it stand for Dumbledore's Army because that's the Ministry worst fear, isn't it?"

Everybody agreed to Ginny's idea – and Hermione made if official, writing the name on the parchment everyone had signed, then pinning it on the wall.

"Right, shall we get practicing then? I was thinking, the first thing we should do is _Expelliarmus_ , you know, the Disarming Charm. I know it's pretty basic but I've found it really useful –"

"Oh, _please,_ " interrupted by best mate Zacharias Smith. "I don't think _Expelliarmus_ is exactly going to help us against You-Know-Who, do you?"

"Well it certainly would help shut that bloody annoying mouth of yours," I muttered behind my teeth.

George shot me a look, smirking. I had had some difficulties with the Hufflepuff during our first meeting at the Hog's Head – a big prat he was. I had nearly hexed him on our way back.

"I've used it against him," said Harry. "It saved my life last June. But if you think it's beneath you, you can leave."

I proudly looked at Harry, satisfied of the look on Smith's face. He didn't move – I wish he had, though.

"Okay. I reckon we should all divide into pairs and practice."

I partnered with Lee, as Angelina went with Alicia, leaving the twins as a duo. As everyone started to practice, I stood in front of Lee, wand at the ready.

"You want to go first?" I suggested.

"Nah. Ladies first" he grinned, and I rolled my eyes.

"All right. _Expelliarmus!_ "

Lee's laughter died in his throat as his wand flew out of his hand, landing right next to my shoes. I gave him a wide grin, handing it back to him.

"Not bad, not bad. Now, my turn. _Expelliarmus!_ "

I had no chance – my wand slid from my fingers into the air, landing on the opposite side of the room.

"Strong," I said, smiling.

He raised his hand, and I gave him a high-five before crossing the room to go and get it. We practiced like that for an hour – our wands had landed everywhere possible in the room – I had succeeded in grabbing Lee's in my hand, but also at sending it on the very top of a high bookshelf – it had taken an _Accio_ to get it back.

I could have gone on for another hour – we were all having a lot of fun. But we couldn't get past the curfew, and soon we were on our way back to the Common Room. I couldn't wait for the next Wednesday.

* * *

October went by between Quidditch practices and D.A. meetings – soon the wind grew colder, and the trees lost their leaves. The first match between Gryffindor and Slytherin was arriving fast, and a week before it, Angelina insisted that the team had daily practices to get ready. The special Galleon that Hermione had given us to inform us of meetings remained untouched during that time, as the Gryffindor team relentlessly went to the Pitch every night, whether it rained or not, whether the wind blew strong or not.

November 2nd finally came – fortunately, the weather was good, despite it being bitterly cold. We all dressed warmly and went downstairs to get breakfast. Ron looked like he was going to faint. I tried to encourage him, but I wasn't sure he heard me. Me and Lee accompanied Fred, George, Angelina and Alicia to the stadium. There was a thin layer of frost on the grass, and it was much colder than I expected. When we got to the changing rooms, we wished everyone good luck.

"You better win," I smiled. "It's my birthday tomorrow, and it would be the best gift you could give me."

"It's your birthday tomorrow?!" exclaimed George dramatically, putting a hand over his mouth.

I ruffled his hair, kissing him on the cheek.

"Yes, and you better have a nice gift for me," I joked.

"I thought winning the match would be your gift" smiled Angelina.

"Well, yes, but you know what they say… Diamonds are a girl's best friend."

Everyone chuckled.

"You've got work to do, mate," snickered Lee.

"I think we should break up," said George, looking at me seriously.

I gave him a nudge, and in exchange he grabbed me by the waist and put his lips on mine for a more than great kiss.

"Angelina, d'you reckon we can cancel the match? I think I'm going to be sick," muttered Fred.

"You sure it's not one of those Puking Pastiles of yours?"

I shook my head, and saw a smile on Fred's face.

"I'll see you after the match," whispered George in my ear, still holding me by my waist.

"Good luck, champion," I told him.

Then it was just me and Lee, and soon he too had to leave for the stand where he was doing the commentary. I joined the red and gold crowd, spotting a place next to Ginny.

"Hey, Gin," I smiled.

"Hey, Adds. How's everyone?"

"Good, I think. Except for Ron."

"Yeah, I saw him in the Great Hall. He looked like he was going to faint."

"I know," I groaned. "Let's just hope Angelina's pep talk helped him."

"Yeah…"

Her word trailed off, as she seemed distracted by something – I looked at the direction she was staring at – the Slytherin supporters. They were singing something, and holding signs.

"What are they saying?" I asked.

"I'm not sure – wait."

We listened more attentively – and soon the words became clear.

"Those gigantic prats!" I exclaimed.

"That doesn't sound good for Ron," said Ginny, looking worried.

We didn't have time to discuss it any longer, as both teams entered the Pitch.

"Captains shake hands," called Mrs Hooch.

Angelina and Montague, my best mate, did so – I was too far to see their expressions, but everyone could feel the tension. The Gryffindor/Slytherin rivalry was dangerous at times, but their matches against each other were always the best.

The game soon started, with Angelina soon getting her hands on the Quaffle.

"And it's Johnson, Johnson with the Quaffle," said Lee through his microphone, "what a player that girl is, I've been saying it for years but she still won't go out with me –"

"JORDAN!"

"Just a fun fact, Professor, adds a bit of interest –"

I shook my head, smiling, glancing at Angelina who looked quite annoyed.

" – dodges Warrington, avoids a Bludger – close call, Alicia – and the crowd are loving this, just listen to them, what's that they're singing?"

Lee paused to listen to the Slytherins' song. _Weasley cannot save a thing; he cannot block a single ring; that's why Slytherins all sing: Weasley is our King._ I gritted my teeth, exchanging an annoyed look with Ginny – I just hoped Ron couldn't hear them. Luckily, the match was more than captivating, otherwise I would have just crossed the stadium to shut them up one at a time.

The match wasn't going well – I could barely concentrate on Lee's commentary with the Slytherins blurting out their song – and Slytherins kept scoring. Then Harry seemed to be chasing after the Snitch, finally, and I watched him keenly, trying to ignore that awful song, and just when his hand rounded around the golden ball – we all erupted in cheering – a Bludger came out of nowhere and knocked him off his broom.

The crowd gasped – but Harry didn't seem hurt, and soon was back on his feet.

"WE WON! WE WON!"

Jumping and cheering, I hugged Ginny and quickly ran down the stands to get to the team to congratulate them – it was a habit I had – Mrs Hooch had stopped trying to stop me in my third year.

"YOU WON!" I screamed as I reached the grass, jumping into George's arms.

"Happy birthday," he said, grinning from ear to ear.

I couldn't help it – I kissed him. Then I went to hug Fred, and everyone else – I was going to congratulate Katie when I heard a sneering voice – _Malfoy._

"What is he blabbering on about?" I asked Angelina.

"Talk about sour grapes," she simply said.

But Malfoy didn't hear us.

" – we couldn't fit in _useless loser_ either – for his father, you know –"

The mood had suddenly shifted, as Fred and George turned to him, grave looks on their faces.

"Leave it," quickly said Angelina, grabbing Fred's arm, which he didn't seem to notice. "Leave it, Fred, let him yell, he's just sore he lost, the jumped-up little –"

" – but you like the Weasleys, don't you, Potter?" continued Malfoy. "Spend holidays there and everything, don't you? Can't see how you stand the stink, but I suppose when you've been dragged up by Muggles even the Weasleys' hovel smells okay –"

It was my turn to grab George's arm, but it was too late. Fortunately, Harry got a hold of him while Angelina, Alicia and Katie held back Fred. I could feel my blood boil in my veins.

"Or perhaps, you can remember what _your_ mother's house stank like, Potter, and Weasley's pigsty reminds you of it –"

Suddenly, both George and Harry sprint forward, clearly heading for Malfoy who had backed away.

"GEORGE, NO!" I yelled after him.

He was already gone, however – I leaned forward, with every intention of following him, when I heard a sly laugh right next to me. I glared at the rest of the Slytherin team, who had been watching the altercation. Montague was leading them – _of course he was._

"Did you like our song, Harlowe? I thought you might like it. Since you're sharing saliva with Weasley and all – and haven't you been to their 'house', too?"

"Shut your bloody mouth, Montague."

"Addy, don't listen to him," said Alicia behind me.

But Montague wasn't done.

"But how could anybody want you, I wonder. Sure, you're pretty, for a Mudblood. But even your parents didn't want you, so –"

My blood froze in my veins.

"What did you say?"

"I said even your parents didn't want you – isn't that right? Poor little baby Harlowe. All alone in the cold, made an orphan by parents that were disgusted by the idea of having you in their –"

I didn't hesitate, I didn't think. Before I could I was already heading straight for Montague. I knew he was bigger than me, and that I had absolutely no chance fighting him – but I didn't care. I only saw red.

I hit him as hard as I could. I heard a loud _crack_ as my fingers came into contact with his nose – then a sharp pain went through my hand, but I didn't care. He had taken a few steps back, stunned by my punch.

"I'm _sorry_ , what were you saying?" I spat out.

Blood started to run down his nose – his teammates looked at him, then at me, then back at him. I heard people behind me, but no one came to stop or help me. The look on Montague's face changed then – the very look of a wounded pride. It was then his turn to launch himself at me – I inhaled sharply, and prepared for the blow. His incredibly big fist hit my right eye with such force than I stumbled and fell down, my body hitting the cold grass, a cry of pain escaping my throat.

"ADDY!" cried out a voice.

Was it Alicia? I couldn't be sure.

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" I heard a voice say.

"Addy, are you all right?"

I nodded, as I straightened myself up. I winced at the pain in my forehead. I could feel blood running down my face – it felt warm. I saw Montague and his friends being led away by Mrs Hooch a few meters away.

"Are you sure?"

It was Alicia, who was kneeling down beside me, holding me up with my arm.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I replied, getting myself back to my feet.

"You're bleeding. You need to go to the Infirmary."

I slowly nodded, knowing she was right – but another hand grabbed my arm.

"You, too, Miss Harlowe! Straight to your Head of House, _now_!"

"What about _him_?!" I protested, pointing Montague who now was trying to stop his nose from bleeding. "He hit me too!"

"I don't _care_ who hit who, Miss Harlowe, to your Head of House, now, and I will not repeat it!"

I clenched my jaw and glanced at Alicia.

"I'll see you later."

"Let me walk with you, Addy, just in case."

I let her – we both silently walked to the castle. I could see Harry and George ahead, but I was too angry to call out to them. _Bloody git._ I knew I had made a mistake by hitting him first – but bloody hell, that had felt _good._ Had I broken his nose? It didn't even matter if I didn't – I had hurt him, him and his bloody pride – that seemed to soothe the sharp pain in my forehead.

We were nearly at McGonagall's office when Harry and George noticed we were walking behind them. George's eyes widened at my sight.

"What the –"

"Montague" I said. "He –"

But I couldn't finish – McGonagall appeared in the corridor, still wearing her Gryffindor scarf.

"In!" she said sharply, her lips more tightly pecked than I had ever seen.

I squeezed Alicia's hand, who gave me a faint smile, and followed Harry and George in McGonagall's office.

" _Well?_ " she started, looking livid. "I have never seen such a disgraceful exhibition. Two unto one! Explain yourselves!"

"Malfoy provoked us."

"Provoked you?" she repeated, her fist hitting her desk brutally. "He'd just lost, hadn't he, of course he wanted to provoke you! But what on earth he can have said that justified what you two –"

"He insulted my parents," said George. "And Harry's mother."

"But instead of leaving it to Madam Hooch to sort out, you two decided to give an exhibition of Muggle dueling, did you? And you, miss Harlowe, what could possibly justify your behavior?"

I stared down at the floor.

"The same thing, Professor. He provoked me. Insul-"

"And you thought hitting him was the solution to that? He is twice bigger than you, he could've hurt you a lot more than he did. Have you three any idea what you've –"

" _Hem, hem._ "

For the second time that day, my blood froze in my veins. I turned to the doorway – there she was, in bright, glorious pink.

"May I help, Professor McGonagall?" she asked, smiling.

"Help?" repeated McGonagall. "What do you mean, 'help'?"

"Why, I thought you might be grateful for a little extra authority."

McGonagall's face turned from livid to bright red, and she turned away from Umbridge, clearly trying to ignore her.

"You thought wrong. Now, you three had better listen closely. I do not care what provocation Malfoy or Montague offered you, I do not care if they insulted every family member you possess, your behavior was disgusting and I am giving each of you a week's worth of detention! Do not look at me like that, Potter, you deserve it! And if either of you ever –"

" _Hem, hem._ "

The pain in my eyebrow was sharper than ever – fortunately, what was going on offered a slight distraction.

" _Yes_?"

"I think they deserve rather more than detentions."

"But unfortunately, it is what I think that counts, as they in my House, Dolores."

"Well, _actually_ , Minerva, I think you'll find that what I think _does_ count. Now, where is it? Cornelius just sent it. I mean.. the _Minister_ just sent it… Ah yes."

Umbridge pulled a piece of parchment out of her bag. We all stared at her ominously.

" _Hem, hem…_ 'Educational Decree Number Twenty-five…'"

"Not another one!" cried out McGonagall in exasperation.

I would have laughed if I didn't feel so awful.

"Well, yes. As a matter of fact, Minerva, it was you who made me see that we _needed_ a further amendement… You remember how you overrode me, when I was unwilling to allow the Gryffindor Quidditch team to re-form? How you took the case to Dumbledore, who insisted that the team be allowed to play?"

I glanced at McGonagall – I knew it had all been because of her.

"Well, now, I couldn't have that," continued Umbridge. "I contacted the Minister at once, and he quite agreed with me that the High Inquisitator has to have the power to strip…"

I lost track of her speech quickly – my head was buzzing with pain. But then a few words caught my attention, brutally bringing me back to reality.

"I really think I will have to ban these two from playing Quidditch ever again."

I stared at Umbridge.

"Ban us?" repeated Harry. "From playing… ever again?"

"Yes, Mr. Potter, I think a lifelong ban ought to do the trick. You _and_ Mr. Weasley here. And I think, to be safe, this young man's twin ought to be stopped too – if his teammates had not restrained him, I feel sure he would have attacked young Mr. Malfoy as well."

"You're going to punish him for something he _could_ have done?!" I blurted out, outraged. "That's not fair!"

"And of course, miss Harlowe, you will be banned from the Quidditch Pitch for the reminder of the year. Since I can't forbid you to play, I think one night per week of detention with me until the end of the semester ought to do."

"But –"

"Or _two_ nights per week would be more preferable, perhaps?"

My plea suddenly felt bitter in my throat.

"I will want their broomsticks confiscated, of course; I shall keep them safely in my office, to make sure there is no infringement of my ban. But I am not unreasonable, Professor McGonagall. The rest of them can continue playing, I saw no signs of violence from any of _them._ Well… good afternoon to you."

The silence that followed her departure from the office lasted a while. Snow had started to fall quietly outside. I almost didn't feel the pain anymore.


	49. vol II : chapter nineteen

_Hello everyone!_  
 _I'm sorry it has been so long since I updated last. Like I had thought, the end of the semester was really though and I barely had time to breathe, even less to write._  
 _But here's the new chapter for you. I hope you will like it. Thank you for all your support, it means the world to me. 3_  
 _Enjoy!_

* * *

 **wildest dreams  
** VOLUME II

* * *

 **CHAPTER NINETEEN**

* * *

I woke up the next day with a headache. The cut in my eyebrow wasn't painful anymore, thanks to Madam Pomfrey – but I still swallowed the pain relief Potion she had given me the day before. I opened my curtain – everyone was awake.

"Happy birthday, Addy," said Alicia with a small smile.

I smiled back, although I felt a little grim – everything that had happened yesterday shed a shadow on my good mood. Banned from the Quidditch Pitch – and one night of detention per week with Umbridge until Christmas. That was enough to make me want to go back to bed, and sleep until December.

I stood up with the good idea to take a long, warm shower, but stopped at the foot of Angelina's bed. She was still laying there, her arms covering her face – very out of character for Angelina, who was usually the first one up.

"Angie?" I said quietly.

She moved her arms slightly so that I could see her face.

"Please tell me yesterday was a nightmare."

I sat down on her bed, sighing.

"I wish I could."

She groaned, rolling under the covers to hide herself.

"What am I even going to do?" she moaned. "I'm missing half my team."

"You'll find a way, Angie, you always do."

"How am I even going to find two Beaters? And no one compares to –"

"Hey," I said, putting my hand on her shoulder. "Why don't we go downstairs, eat a nice breakfast, and then we'll try to find a solution together. All right?"

She sighed, straightening up on the bed.

"All right."

I smiled, giving her a hug. I took a quick shower and we went downstairs to grab breakfast – the Great Hall was quiet, but I felt a few looks on me and the small bandage on my eyebrow. I glanced at the Slytherin table, but Montague was nowhere to be seen. Good, I thought. I was in no mood to deal with him.

I filled my plate with sausages and scrambled eggs and started eating slowly. My eyes wandered around the Great Hall, as if daring anyone to look at me funny. I then spotted Ginny, who was eating with her boyfriend Michael Corner.

"What about Ginny?" I told Angelina. "I've seen her play a lot at the Burrow – she's brilliant."

"Yeah, that's not a bad idea. She's a Weasley, after all."

I smiled, and then felt two arms slid around me and a pair of lips kissing my cheek.

"Happy birthday, gorgeous."

I felt my smile widen as George sat down beside me. His lip was still a little swollen from yesterday. I thought about how we looked like two misfits, with our cuts and bruises.

"Hey, you."

"Why the long face?" he asked.

I glared at him.

"Don't you remember yesterday?"

"Oh, don't let that ruin your day."

"How can I do that? You've been –"

Before I could continue, George put a finger on my lips, preventing me from listing everything that had happened. I squeezed his hand – he was right. I shouldn't let it ruin my day. Fred, Lee and Alicia arrived, and gave me warm hugs – Lee had brought me a plate of pancakes from the kitchens. I gave him a big kiss on the cheek – well, until George started protesting.

After we finished eating, the twins insisted that we all went outside to enjoy the snow that had fallen during the night – and we spent all morning there, tobogganing and throwing snowballs at the windows of the Gryffindor Tower. All the laughter and the running around made me forget my grimness, and went got back inside for lunch, I was in such a good mood that even the sight of Montague sitting at the Slytherin table didn't ruin it. I only winked at him, pointing my own nose to refer to the small bandage on his. The consequences were awful – but at that moment it felt so worth it.

After lunch I insisted on going to do homework at the library – with the match the day before, I hadn't done anything and I still had a mountain of work to do. But George also insisted on going with me, and of course, I didn't get any work done, as he kept scribbling hearts on my essays and followed me every time I went to get a book to steal a kiss. So not two hours later, I gave up, and we headed for Hogsmeade through the secret passage.

We spent the rest of the afternoon there, shopping and eating candy – and we decided to have dinner at the Three Broomsticks. The owner, Madam Rosemerta, didn't comment on our slightly illegal presence, and served us two delicious plates of fish and chips. We had just finished sharing a desert of ice cream and brownies when George put down a small box next to my bowl. I gave him a suspicious look.

"What's that?" I asked.

"Open it," he simply said.

"You didn't buy me a real diamond, did you? 'Cause that was a joke."

"I know. Just open it."

I looked at him for a second – him and his little smirk. Shaking my head, I took the small black box and pulled on the golden ribbon. When I opened the lid, my breath caught in my throat.

" _Bloody hell,_ " I whispered.

"D'you like them?" said George hopefully.

In the small box were the two most beautiful earrings I had ever seen – two dark red stones, surrounded by golden embroidery, glimmering just slightly in the dim light. They looked so simple and so breath-taking at the same time.

"I love them, George. They're perfect," I said, smiling.

"Put them on," he replied excitedly.

I hadn't been wearing any, so I put them on quickly, feeling my cheeks burn.

"How do I look?" I asked George when I was done.

"Perfect."

I slapped his arm, shaking my head.

"Piss off."

"It's true" he smiled, slightly laughing.

"Oh, George – thank you. Seriously – you didn't have to…"

"I wanted to."

"But they look very expensive, and –"

"No, no, I don't want to hear that. You're my girlfriend, I love you and I wanted to give you something special for your birthday. Besides, I can afford it now. Business has been _really_ good."

I chuckled, and bent forward to pull him into a long, tender kiss, stroking his hair.

"I love you."

"I love you too."

* * *

A nice surprise awaited us at the staff table in the Great Hall the next morning – Hagrid was back. I watched in amusement the twins and Lee run down the room to shake his hand, and Alicia hugging me tightly, her eyes almost filled with tears at the idea of not having to see Grubbly-Plank ever again.

The next day, when I arrived at Defense Against the Dark Arts, Umbridge had decided to change the entire seating of the class – I sighed in relief at not having to sit down beside Montague anymore. I ended up on the front row, however, next to a quiet Slytherin girl who spent most of the lesson doodling on a piece of parchment. That night, I was to have my first detention with Umbridge. When her class had ended, she had given me a sharp look.

"I will see you at six tonight, Miss Harlowe. My office."

I nodded – as if I would forget – and was restless for the rest of the day. Detention was already awful – I couldn't imagine what it was like with Umbridge. I knew Harry had had several detentions with her since the beginning of the year, and I wanted to ask him how they were, but I couldn't find him all day.

Six o'clock soon arrived, and I set out for Umbridge's office.

"Come in," said the familiar shrill voice.

Breathing in, I opened the door and entered the small office. The last time I had been there, Lupin was the Defense teacher – it looked much, much different today. The grey walls were now pale pink, and decorated with dozens and dozens of small decorative plates with kittens on them – kittens who miaowed at my appearance. Everything was pink and white, from the tablecloth on the Umbridge's desk to Umbridge herself. There was also a sharp smell of cheap roses, that made me wrinkle my nose.

"Good evening, miss Harlowe. Please, take a seat."

She designated a small desk near the window. I settled my bag next to it and sat down without uttering a word.

"Would you like a cup of tea?" she asked.

"No, thank you."

She gave me a long, lingering look, punctuated by her infamous small smile.

"Very well. You'll be doing lines for me tonight, miss Harlowe."

I nodded, eyeing the quill and the parchment on the desk in front me. I took the quill and examined it – it was unlike any quill I had seen before. Frowning, I decided it was best not to ask any questions.

"What would you like me to copy?"

"Let's see."

She stood up, still smiling, and walked to the window.

"How about 'I must not use violence against my classmates'."

I arched an eyebrow – Montague was hardly my 'classmate' – but I nodded anyway. Umbridge then turned to face me, giving me a questioning look.

"Well, why aren't you writing, miss Harlowe?"

I frowned.

"You haven't given me any ink," I said hesitantly.

She smiled again, a weird expression on her face. It was like her eyes were suddenly glistening.

"Oh, you don't need any ink. Now, begin."

No ink? I glanced at the quill – maybe it was a new kind of quill that didn't require any ink. So I started writing on the piece of parchment, mindlessly, hoping she wouldn't want me to write it too many times. Perhaps if this didn't last too long, I would still have time to –

 _Ow !_ A sudden, sharp pain on the back on my left hand made me hiss. I tried to go on writing, but the pain didn't go away – so I looked at it, and I felt a cold shiver run through my spine. On the back of my hand, one by one, appeared bloody letters, as if someone was carving them through my very flesh. After a few seconds, I understood what the letters where – it was the same line I had been writing with the quill.

I stared at my hand, then at the quill, and then at Umbridge, who was still looking out the window, her smile still on her face. I couldn't believe what was happening – she was torturing me. Had she been doing this to all the students she had in detention? Had she been doing this to Harry? Surely he would have said something. My heart pounded in my chest as I stared at Umbridge. I knew she was awful – but that was something else.

Sensing my stare, she turned to me.

"Is there something wrong, miss Harlowe?"

I could have said anything – I could have screamed, I could have insulted her. But somehow, I knew it was not worth it – that whatever I did, my punishment would only get worse. The semester had started over two months ago – if someone had reported her, it hadn't changed anything. So I swallowed my pride, shook my head, and kept writing.

When I walked back to the Gryffindor Tower, Fred and George were waiting for me outside the Common Room. They were both smiling, exchanging excited whispers – clearly they had good news. But when they saw me, both their smiles faded – I must have looked awful.

"Are you all right?" George asked, frowning.

I sighed, unable to find the words. My hand hurt like hell – and inevitably, my eyes filled with tears.

"Hey, hey," he said softly, taking me into his arms.

"Bloody hell, what did she do to you?" muttered Fred.

I took a deep breath, and showed them my hand. They blinked, and none of us spoke for a few seconds. Then Fred slowly took my fingers, examining my hand.

"She did this to you?"

"Not her directly," I said quietly. "She has a quill… Er – a special quill of some sort. You write with it, and it… it…"

"It carves it on your hand," completed Fred for me. "That's… that's just _sick_."

"It's torture," said George. "You've got to say something."

I shook my head.

"I don't want to make it worse, George."

"What could be worse than that?!"

"I don't know, but I'm not sure I want to find out! If she's capable of this, who knows what she's capable of! And I'm not the first one who has had detention with her, so clearly, she's doing it right under Dumbledore's nose!"

"How can no one have denounced her yet?" said Fred.

"Maybe they did," I shrugged. "But maybe Dumbledore couldn't do anything. He hasn't been exactly present this year. We never see him."

"You think Dumbledore would just _let_ something like this happen?" said George.

"No, of course not!" I cried out.

I sighed, feeling completely hopeless and tired.

"She's right, mate," said Fred. "Maybe his hands are tied, with all those new decrees…"

"I just – I have a hard time believing Dumbledore would let her torture everyone. Let alone Harry. He had detention with Umbridge like, a hundred times, right?"

I stared at him. Harry, of course!

"I'll ask him about it," I said. "Maybe he knows more than us about it."

"But Adds –"

"I want to talk to him before anything. Then, I'll decide. All right?"

There was a short silence.

"Does it hurt?" asked George, pointing my hand.

"Not so much anymore," I muttered.

"You can't lie to us, Adds. We know you too well for that," sighed Fred.

"C'mon, let's try and find something to make you feel better. Maybe Angelina will –"

"No," I interrupted.

They both stared at me.

"No?" they repeated.

"I don't want to see anyone. I just – I don't want them to – I don't want everyone to know, all right? Not now. Please."

Fred stared at me like I was mad, but George's hand went up to stroke my hair.

"Okay, Adds. Let's go find someplace quiet and forget about this whole thing."

I nodded, bringing myself close to him. Fred sighed, but gave me a smile.

"I know just the place," he said, placing his arm around my shoulder.

"Kitchens?" said George.

"Kitchens."

For the first time that evening, I smiled. We walked away from the portrait of the Fat Lady, and I thought that however hard she tried, there was one thing Umbridge just couldn't take away from us.

* * *

I didn't find Harry that evening, and neither the day after that – luckily, we had a D.A. meeting on Wednesday night. After he had demonstrated the spell of that day – _Stupefy_ – I walked to him, determined to ask him about Umbridge. My hand still hurt – I had hidden behind my long sleeves all day to avoid looks – it didn't bleed anymore, but it was all red and sensitive.

"Hey, Harry," I smiled, walking up to him.

"Hey."

"Er – could I talk to you? It's er – kind of delicate subject."

He frowned, giving me a weird look – after all, me and Harry weren't particularly close, although we had been friends for five years.

"Sure," he said.

We went to a more private area of the room, between two book shelves.

"What's going on?" he asked when we were alone. "Nothing bad happened, right?"

"No, nothing horrible. But – I just wanted to ask you – you've been on detention with Umbridge, right?"

"Yeah," he answered. "Good memories."

I let out a chuckle.

"And – er - what did she make you do? Did she give you lines?"

Harry then gave me a grave look – his eyes travelled to my hand, that was still hidden under my sleeve. Then, seeing I didn't move, he showed me his own hand – it was covered in scars. I felt my heart skip a beat.

"How many times have you been on detention with her?" he asked.

"Just once. Last night," I answered.

"Talk to Hermione – ask her to give you some Murtlap Essence. It helps healing the cuts."

"All right. Thanks."

He nodded, scratching the back of his head.

"Sorry it happened to you. I thought she was just using it on me."

"Don't apologize, it's not like it's your fault. So you don't know if she uses it with anyone else?"

"No, why?"

"I just thought that – that someone would have said something."

"Yeah, you're probably right."

There was a short silence – I hesitated.

"Why haven't you?" I finally asked quietly.

Harry shrugged, looking a little uncomfortable.

"I thought Dumbledore had other things to do."

"So you haven't talked to him?"

"No. Have you?"

"No. I wanted to get your opinion first."

He nodded.

"I think he already knows."

I stared back at him.

"You do?"

"Yeah. He always knows everything that's happening inside Hogwarts. He probably even knows about this whole thing" he said, pointing the room we were in.

"That's true," I nodded, biting my lip. "So why hasn't he done anything?"

"I honestly don't know."

He looked down at his shoes, and I sensed that there was something more behind all this – but I didn't ask. I knew Harry's life was complicated, and the last thing he needed was me poking inside his business. So I took his hand and squeezed it gently.

"Thanks, Harry. For this, and… for all this" I said, gesturing the room. "It's really good for all of us."

He nodded and smiled.

"I'm glad I can help."

I smiled back, and we went back to the rest of the group to finish practice. Despite the seriousness of the situation, my talk with Harry had me feel better – perhaps because I knew there was someone out there that knew exactly how I felt. Therefore, I spent the next hour practicing _Stupefy_ with Lee.

When the meeting ended, I went to see Hermione to ask her about the Murtlap Essence. She gave me the same grave look Harry had given me, but told me how to get some and how to use it. I thanked her, and after I went to get the ingredients, me and the twins went to the secret room to prepare the solution.

"So what did Harry say?" asked Fred, straining the tentacles.

"He reckons Dumbledore already knows."

"If he knows, why wouldn't he do something about it?"

I shrugged, eyeing the smelly, yellow solution. George sighed. We were silent for a while, as Fred kept mixing. My eyes travelled to the back of my hand – I could barely read the words anymore, but I knew they were there – and the memory of the pain made me shiver.

"All right, Adds. Dig in."

I nodded, and slowly put my hand in the yellow solution.

"How long are you supposed to keep it there?" George asked.

"Hermione said around ten minutes."

He nodded, and the room fell silent again. I rubbed my eye, suddenly feeling tired.

"While we're waiting…" started Fred.

I looked up at him. He was smiling mysteriously.

"There's something we want to talk to you about."

"We wanted to tell you last night, but with that whole Umbridge thing…"

"What is it?" I asked, my curiosity piqued.

Fred and George exchanged a look. Then Fred reached into his bag and handed me a newspaper clip. It was from the _Daily Prophet._ I took it – it was from the adverts section. Someone had drawn a wide circle around one – I read it, frowning.

"'Wide two-floor locale on Diagon Alley available for rent'?"

I glanced at the twins – both had huge grins on their faces.

"Why would you –"

I stopped as I realized the reason why they had shown me this. I gaped at them, feeling my heart skip a beat.

"Is this – you're thinking – for the shop?"

They nodded.

"Bloody hell!" I exclaimed, smiling, nearly knocking over the Murtlap Essence. "Do you know what it looks like?"

"No idea," shrugged Fred. "We wrote to the bloke who put the advert – he wrote back yesterday, set up a visit the day after Christmas."

"He was really chuffed to hear from us. Says he's been trying to rent the place for months."

"That's brilliant! And on Diagon Alley, too!"

"We know – it would be perfect. We just hope it's not _too_ dodgy," said Fred.

"But we'll make it work even if it is."

"Oh, I know you will," I smiled.

I looked at both of them – they were beaming. I felt like my heart could burst out of my chest.

"Oh, I'm so happy for you!" I cried out. "You better take pictures for me!"

Fred gave me a weird look.

"Why would we do that?"

"Yeah, Adds, you're coming with us – it's not like you have a choice."

"Really?!"

They both glared at me, and then I couldn't help myself – I took my hand out of the Murtlap Essence and jumped forward to hugged them both tightly, ignoring their cries of protest.


	50. vol II : chapter twenty

_Hello everyone! Sorry for the delay. I hope you like this one!_

 _Marianne x_

* * *

wildest dreams  
VOLUME II

* * *

CHAPTER TWENTY

* * *

With December came the cold. I had never been a huge fan of winter – and this one was bitterly cold, so we stayed inside most of the time. Without Quidditch, and with my weekly visits to Umbridge's office, I couldn't wait for Christmas to arrive – even more with the prospect of our visit to Diagon Alley.

Everybody seemed to be in a foul mood – the twins, especially, for having to spend so much time inside, and Angelina, who had focused her energy on finding replacements for Fred, George and Harry. Alicia, whose relationship with Ethan kept moving forward, seemed to be the only one of us in a good mood. Even Lee's constant optimism was starting to wear off as the end of the semester drew close.

The weeks passed slowly – and then it was time for our last D.A. meeting of the year. I was walking to the Room of Requirement with the twins when we met Angelina, Alicia, Katie and Lee – they were coming back from the Pitch, where they had held selections to replace Fred, George and Harry.

"So?" I asked.

Angelina sighed, removing her gloves.

"Well, we filled the three spots."

"You found a Seeker?" said Fred, eyebrows raised.

"Yeah. Your sister."

Fred stared back at Angelina.

"Ginny?"

"Well, unless you have another sister…"

"I knew it!" I smiled. "I told you she was good."

"She's brilliant," said Lee.

"What about Beaters?" asked George.

"Andrew Kirke and Jack Sloper."

Fred and George made faces.

"I know," I sighed Angelina. "But they were the best out of the whole bunch. You can imagine. Of course, none of this would be necessary if you two had had the decency of –"

"Oh, no, no," interrupted Alicia. "We are not doing this again."

Angelina shot the twins a very dark look, but didn't insist.

The hour passed quickly – and soon we were getting back to the Common Room, talking about the prospect of maybe trying out the Patronus Charm after the Christmas Holidays. The discussion lasted throughout the whole evening and we all went to bed quite late.

I woke up a little late the next morning – it was the last day of term, after all. After getting dressed, me, Angelina and Alicia lazily went downstairs, only to find Lee prancing around the Common Room, looking distressed.

"Finally!" he exclaimed when he saw us.

"Happy to see you too," said Alicia suspiciously.

"Something happened," he barked, ignoring Alicia.

We all stared at him.

"Fred and George, they're gone."

My breath caught in my throat.

"What?!" I cried out.

"What do you mean, they're gone?" said Angelina faintly.

"They're gone!" repeated Lee. "Last night, around midnight, someone came in our dorm to get them, go to Dumbledore's office –"

"Why?" I asked.

"I don't know," he shrugged. "I didn't question it too much, and fell back asleep – it was really late – but then this morning, they weren't there, and all their stuff was gone, too!"

I had never seen Lee so anxious. He was usually laid-back, always smiling – but there was not even the hint of a smile on his face that morning. My heart pounding in my chest, I looked at Lee.

"What did you do?"

"I went to see McGo," he answered. "She said they were gone because of a 'family emergency', that they wouldn't come back before the end of the semester. She wouldn't tell me anything else."

"A family emergency?" Angelina repeated. "You don't think something happened to their parents, do you?"

I felt the blood drain out of my face as I thought of the possibility that something might have happened to Molly or Arthur – or anyone in the family. My mouth felt dry.

"Let's not panic," Angelina added quietly after silence followed her words. "Surely McGonagall would have told you if something really bad had happened. I'm sure everyone's fine."

But I couldn't shake off the anxiety that had taken over me. Angelina, Alicia and Lee went to get breakfast – but I didn't feel hungry at all, and decided to stay in the Common Room, to wait for news. I didn't have to wait very long – a few minutes after they were gone, Hermione came in.

"Hermione!" I cried out.

She looked up at me, looking calm but slightly pale.

"I need to talk to you," I said breathlessly. "Have you –"

"Yeah, I know. Harry, Ron and Ginny are gone too."

"Harry?" I repeated, dumbfounded.

She nodded, then hesitated, looking around. Fortunately, the room was empty – everyone was either in class or eating breakfast.

"It's Mr. Weasley," she said simply.

"What happened?" I asked, trying not to panic.

"He was attacked at the Ministry last night."

"Is he all right?"

She shrugged slightly, sighing.

"He's still alive. I don't know much."

I nodded – at least, Arthur was alive. But then I frowned.

"What was he doing at the Ministry so late?"

"Well, I guess he was… doing something, you know, for the… for the Order" she said quietly.

"I see," I muttered. "Who told you all about this?"

"Dumbledore. I'm just coming back from his office."

I nodded again, still feeling anxious – despite knowing that Arthur was all right, I wanted to see him, and all the others. Hug them tight.

"How are you going to get to London?" I finally asked Hermione.

"What do you mean?" she frowned.

"Well we have to go – we can't just –"

"Dumbledore said I had to wait until the end of term."

"But it's the last day, who cares about –"

"I know, Addy. I want to leave, too, but we can't. We have to wait until tonight."

I sighed, annoyed. It made sense – Dumbledore couldn't break the rules for everyone. Fred, George, Harry, Ron and Ginny leaving before the end of term was an exception in itself.

"I was thinking of getting the Knight Bus in Hogsmeade, we can go together if you want."

"Yeah, good idea. Meet here after last period?"

"All right. See you later, Addy."

"Thanks, Hermione."

We exchanged smiles, and I gave her a quick hug before running downstairs to tell the others. There wasn't much to be done after that, except being patient.

But patience was never my cup of tea – I was restless for the rest of the day, prancing around the castle, unable to focus during class. When the day finally ended, I met Hermione in the Common Room, my suitcase ready, and we quickly made our way to Hogsmeade to catch the Knight Bus. I had only taken it twice before – and nearly fell on Hermione when the driver had to break to let someone cross the street. Feeling anxious, cold and tired, we finally arrived at Grimmald Square around six o'clock.

Even from outside we could hear Mrs Black's screams after we rang the doorbell – Sirius let us inside, obviously happy to get more company. I quickly thanked him, and not even bothering to take off my coat, ran upstairs to the twins' room, and entered, almost kicking down the door.

"Oi!" said two voices.

But I didn't bother answering, and only jumped in their arms to hug them tight, nearly kicking the cauldron they had been working over.

"Told you she would get here tonight," said George in an amused tone.

"Yeah, well, you're strangling us, Adds."

Smiling in relief, I let them go, and took a good look at them – they hadn't changed, despite maybe looking a little tired.

"I was so worried!" I cried out, sitting on the nearest bed. "I nearly had a heart attack when Lee told us you were gone."

"Sorry about that. We didn't really have time to leave a note," said Fred.

"Of course. But you should have seen Lee, the state he was in –"

"Really?" said George, arching an eyebrow. "Well – he was half asleep when they came to get us in our dormitory, so I guess he must have had quite a shock to find our beds empty this morning."

"Yeah" I sighed. "This is mad."

There was a short silence. I nervously bit my lip.

"How's your Dad?"

Both their faces turned grim.

"He's… fine, I guess. He was in a pretty bad shape, though."

"Yeah, it was weird to see him like this. In the hospital and all."

"I'm so sorry," I said, shaking my head. "It's awful."

"Yeah, it's pretty bad. He should be up for Christmas, though."

"Good."

The cauldron made a weird burping noise, but none of us paid it any attention. All of this hadn't felt real until now – now that I saw the looks on Fred and George's faces, their tired eyes, their serious expressions.

"Hermione said he was attacked," I said softly. "How did it happen?"

The twins exchanged a look.

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to," I quickly added.

"It's not that," said George, shaking his head. "It's just – well…"

"It's weird. What happened."

I frowned, and slid from the bed to sit down on the floor next to them. They then told me everything – about how Harry had had a vision, and about the giant snake that had attacked Arthur – it all sounded like a nightmare. I couldn't imagine everything they had went through that night, just waiting for news. It reminded me of our fourth year, when they had learned about Ginny and the Chamber of Secrets – and how we had held hands, sitting all night in the Common Room, in front of the dying fire, praying for the best.

When we went downstairs for dinner, I hugged Molly tightly – she looked so tired. I helped her serve dinner, and everyone made efforts not to be too grim – Fred and George cracked a few jokes, and helped lighten the mood.

I half-expected the few days leading up to Christmas to be a bit gloomy, due to circumstances, but it happened to be quite the contrary. We spent our time decorating the house, and playing games – I even tried to beat Ron at chess – but of course, failed – and everyone was in a pretty good mood, especially Sirius, who looked more alive than ever. One afternoon, I helped him decorate the Christmas tree with live fairies, and then he spent two hours telling me stories about his time at Hogwarts, smiling and laughing loudly.

On Christmas morning, after unwrapping my presents – I had notably gotten the traditional jumper, a stack of candy from Fred and George and a thick book on Muggle law from Hermione – I went downstairs to make tea, and found Molly crying in the dining room.

"Molly?"

I approached her, putting my hand on her arm – she was holding a blue jumper, pressing it against her chest. She glanced at me, her eyes red and filled with tears.

"Oh, Addy, darling, I am sorry, I – I –"

I glanced at the jumper – and saw the golden 'P'. _Percy._

"Oh, Molly, I'm sorry."

I took her into my arms, holding her for a bit. She hugged me tightly, stroking my back.

"Addy – thank you – you are such – such a sweetheart…."

I smiled softly – and from the corner of my eyes, saw Fred and George enter the dining room, each of them sporting their new purple jumpers.

"Mum?" said Fred.

Molly then removed herself from my arms, taking a deep breath.

"Oh, darlings! I'm so sorry – happy Christmas…"

"Why are you crying?"

"Oh – it's nothing, it's silly, don't worry… I'll make you some tea…"

She hurried out of the room. Both Fred and George looked at me intently.

"It's Percy," I said. "He sent her back his jumper."

"He _what?_ " exclaimed Fred.

"What a pretentious prat," said George, gritting his teeth. "I wish I could show him –"

He stopped, as Molly re-entered the room with three cups and a teapot – her eyes were red, but she had stopped crying.

"There you go…" she said, sniffling. "I'll make some porridge later, if you want…"

"Mum, we're sorry. Percy's a git."

"Yeah. He's nothing more than a humongous pile of rat droppings, he doesn't even _deserve_ a gift from you."

Molly smiled softly, but didn't reply. Then Lupin entered the kitchen, wishing us all Happy Christmas. Fred and George went back upstairs – but I didn't want to leave Molly, and so helped her making breakfast, making sure to first, take Percy's jumper and throw it in the fireplace.

We went to visit Arthur later that day – he looked a little worried, but nevertheless his physical appearance was better than I had imagined. Me and the twins spent the day after Christmas preparing the next day's visit to Diagon Alley – Bill had insisted on accompanying us there, just to make sure we were safe – and so on the 27th, after eating a nice breakfast of scrambled eggs, beans and toast, we set off for Diagon Alley.

We apparated just outside Ollivander's – the space to rent was just a few steps away according to the man who had placed the ad. Bill told us he would be sticking around, but left us to go visit the place by ourselves. Fred and George could barely contain their excitement – I was myself feeling a little nervous, and squeezed George's hand hard.

The place was indeed only a few steps away, standing tall directly on the spot where the Alley diverged slightly to the right. From the outside, it didn't look like much – I probably wouldn't even have seen it if I hadn't been paying attention. The building was dark, with an impressive amount of windows on its front – but most of them were broken or sealed off. Despite its ominous appearance, the building itself wasn't in a bad shape. It easily could be renovated.

Smirking, we walked to the front door, where a small man with a long, navy coat was waiting. When he saw us, his eyebrows raised and disappeared under his hat.

"Misters Weasley, I presume?"

"That's us."

"Very nice to finally meet you, I'm Gideon Perkins."

He shook hands with the twins, a warm smile on his lips, before his eyes turned to me.

"And who is this lovely lady?"

"This is our friend Addy," said Fred.

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Perkins," I smiled, shaking his hand.

"Likewise, likewise. Now, how about we go in?"

"Absolutely" said George with his grin as wide as his face.

As Mr. Perkins unlocked the door with shaky hands, he started talking about the place – how he had been trying to rent it for a while, how nice its location was, and how, with a little bit of love, it could become the perfect place to set shop. I listened to him as we entered, and felt my jaw drop a little bit.

Despite the odd smell, and the incredible amount of dust lying around, I already knew the place was perfect. It was not wide, but it was very high – the shelves seemed to go up indefinitely, with spiral staircases joining the few floors. The wood seemed mostly in good condition, despite being broken there and there. There was work to be done, that was for sure, but it seemed to me like the twins could turn this place into something incredible. I glanced at them – they were looking around, wide-eyed, carefully listening to what Mr. Perkins was saying.

"What was this place before?" I asked, curious.

"Apothecary. The owner had had his establishment for many years, but he fell very ill and died about a year ago. He had no children, so the building fell into my hands."

"Wow," I muttered, feeling a little bit sad at the idea of this lonely, sick old man.

Mr. Perkins showed us the back room, where there was enough space for storage and even an office. We then climbed the stairs to see the different floors – there were four in total. The place felt a little bit like a labyrinth – I could imagine it back in the day, with its shelves stocked with potions and ingredients, and with the old man at the counter who knew exactly where everything was. I felt myself smiling as we looked around.

We went back on the first floor, and I noticed a door in the back that we hadn't yet explored.

"Where does that lead?"

Mr. Perkins smiled mysteriously.

"Good eye, Miss. I wanted to keep this part of the tour for the end. I think it will finish convincing you."

I exchanged looks with the twins, who looked like they were going to burst out of excitement. But they acted more professional than I had ever seen them – they were taking this seriously.

We followed the small man to the door, who opened it with a little key. Behind the door was a staircase, which lead to another door. All of this was very mysterious. I could feel my heart pounding in my chest as Mr. Perkins unlocked the second door. We quietly followed him upstairs.

We finally entered a wide empty room. The odd smell was weaker here, and there was also less dust. At the other end of the room stood an enormous window, that gave a splendid view of Diagon Alley. I looked around, feeling a smile spread on my lips. To our right was a small kitchen – to our left, three doors.

"You didn't tell me there was a flat!" I exclaimed, turning to the twins.

They were smiling – obviously they had wanted this to be a surprise.

"This is amazing!"

"Isn't it? I didn't think it would be that big" said Fred, looking around.

"And that view, too!" added George.

"You have two bedrooms, one bathroom, a kitchen and a closet right there" explained Mr. Perkins. "And plenty of space in the living room."

He showed us all the rooms, giving us time to explore them thouroughly. Soon the conversation diverged into what was included in the rent, and how the lease would work – I took that time to walk to the window, taking in the view.

Would this truly be a home for Fred and George? It seemed so odd to imagine them living in any other place than Hogwarts or the Burrow. They would have their own place – their own shop. On Diagon Alley. For so many years that prospect had been one of the far future – one we dreamed of. But now it was _real_ – more real than ever. It was so much to take in, and yet it all made sense. I breathed in, suddenly having the urge to laugh.

The twins appeared on each side of me.

"Where's Mr. Perkins?"

"He's gone to fetch the papers."

"So you're taking it?"

"We're taking it," said George, grinning.

I took both of their hands, squeezing them tight.

"This is unbelievable."

"We know," they replied in unison.

We stood there for a few seconds, staring at the distance. The world seemed to be ours, only ours. Hogwarts seemed so far away now – and yet it was a part of us.

"I want to show you something," said George in my ear, leading me away.

I followed him to the room closest to the door. There was a small closet on our right, and another window right in front of us. I felt him squeeze my hand.

"What do you think?" he asked.

"What?"

"For us."

I felt my heart skip a beat, and quickly breathed in, scared that my lungs had stopped working. My heart pounded in my chest in a rhythmic manner, as if it was dancing.

"For us?" I repeated slowly.

"Yeah," he said softly. "Our bed would be there…"

He pointed right under the window.

"We would each have a bedside table, and a lamp. There would be photographs, here. And maybe a plant. We could have a plant."

"It would probably die," I laughed.

"Yeah, you're right," he muttered.

I looked up at him, taking in his smile, and the way his hair stuck up on his head, and the small wrinkle in his left cheek. I took in the softness of his hand in mine, the color of his jacket. I listened to his breathing, imagining it next to me for the _rest of our lives._

"I love it," I said, softly.

He looked down at me, and I lost myself in his eyes, until I couldn't take it anymore – I kissed him tenderly, feeling his hand slide around my waist. The world was indeed ours now.


End file.
